Morphinominal
by KnightMysterio
Summary: Crossover with Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Six American exchange students come to Nerima, not quite knowing how much chaos they're stepping into... Not to mention the chaos that follows them from home... Rated T for violence & language later on...
1. New Arrivals from America

_**Morphinominal**_

_**By KnightMysterio**_

_All characters save for my originals copyrighted to their original owners and used without permission for non-profit amusement purposes. Takes place before Lord Zedd's arrival and before the Phoenix Mountain arc._

_Tokyo Airport…+++_

"We thank you for flying Tokyo Air! We hope you enjoyed your flight and will fly with us again!" said a disgustingly cheerful voice in Japanese as the six Americans came off the plane, giving the loudspeaker a disgusted look.

"'We hope you enjoyed your flight,'" said a lanky young black man in a black t-shirt and jean shorts, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Screaming babies, lousy food, a bad movie… And I swear that guy next to me was sweating chicken grease…"

"It could have been worse, Zack," said a tall, athletic man in green, brushing his ponytail off his shoulders. He dropped his voice several octaves and whispers, "Rita could have attacked."

Zack shook his head. "Thank goodness for small favors…" he muttered, "Still can't believe that we got talked into this exchange student program…"

"If you're worried about Angel Grove," said a tall young man in red, "Don't be. My guess is that Angel Grove was only ever threatened because we were there. We'll most likely have to deal with Rita and her monsters even here."

"That's not the most comforting thought I've had today, Jason," said a slender young woman in pink.

"Try this then, Kimberly," said a slightly out of shape young man with glasses, "We have a chance to learn about another culture, to gain knowledge and experience to help better ourselves."

"Speaking of shortcuts to learning," said the ponytailed young man in green, "You DID bring the universal translators Zordon made with you, didn't you Billy?"

Billy shook his head, sighing. "I still don't see why you asked me to bring them, Tommy. After all, how can you learn if…"

"We're going to be here for a year, Billy," said Zack, "Trini's the only one of us that speaks Japanese, and I don't intend to look like a fool lookin' up words in a book when I can't bring her with me somewhere."

"Zack's ranting aside," said their sixth companion, an Asian woman in dark yellow clothes with an amused expression on her face, "It would be simpler to have them."

Billy rolled his eyes and sighed. "Very well. They're in my suitcase. C'mon, let's go to the baggage claim."

The six of them walked over to the baggage claim, chatting idly. While they waited for their suitcases to come down the line, Billy gave them a quick lesson on what honorifics to use and when, as well as some basic cultural notes.

After a moment, Kimberly asked, "Hey, what school are we going to, anyway?"

Billy thought for a moment, and pulled out a slip of paper in the pocket of his blue coveralls. "Ah, here we go. We're going to Furinkan High School, in the Nerima district."

Jason nodded. "What about living arrangements?"

"My great-aunt on my father's side lives in Nerima. She's agreed to let us all stay with her in exchange for helping out around the house," Trini said.

"Sounds reasonable," Tommy said.

Trini nodded. "Also, apparently there's a dojo nearby. The Tendo Training Hall."

"Excellent," Jason and Tommy said, trading high fives.

"It'd be nice to have a little normalcy before Rita finds us again," Kimberly said.

Somewhere, an irony god started laughing uproariously.


	2. Experiencing Lunacy for the First Time

_(Side Note: I forgot to mention in the disclaimer that this would mix in a few anime elements as well as keeping to the Manga story. Sorry about that.)_

_Furinkan High School…_+++++++++

_The very next day…_+++++++

Ranma Saotome wasn't normally one for suspicion. Truth be told, he had no reason to be suspicious. It had been a good day so far. He and Akane hadn't had any reason to fight, he hadn't been turned into a girl by the stupid old lady with the ladle (she had been busy indoors for some reason), Happosai had gone out before he woke up, Genma didn't fight with him over food, none of his fiancées had tried to glomp him, Ryoga was apparently focusing on Akari now rather than Akane, Nabiki hadn't tried to blackmail him for anything yet… even Kuno hadn't tried anything. It was a perfect day.

Which, Ranma was sad to admit, was very abnormal for him.

"Something major is gonna happen, Akane," he said, walking along the fence next to the canal as his housemate and primary fiancée walked on the ground beside him.

Akane frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing's happened so far today. That means something major is gonna happen," Ranma said.

Akane scowled. "Is it so wrong for us to have a nice day, without any fights or anything?"

"For us it is. Nothing's happened yet today. Akane, we even have more than enough time to get to class, and I'm not half-asleep. When was the last time we had a day this perfect?"

Akane looked thoughtful for a moment, frowning as a thought occurred to her. "Well, it was the day before… before Rouge arrived and Pantyhose crashed through our roof…"

Somewhere in China, a short-tempered young man with a fearsome cursed form sat up out of sheer reflex and yelled "Don't call me that!" Not seeing who said the offending word, he grumbled something about hearing things and killing the 'pervert old man' before laying back down and going to sleep.

Unaware of this, Ranma continued his line of questioning. "And the time before that?"

Akane's frowned. "The next day Herb, Lime, and Mint showed up…"

Ranma shook his head sadly. "How about the very first time?"

Akane sighed. "Happosai showed up the very next day… Okay, I get it… So what's going to happen now? Shampoo trying to brainwash you and accidentally summoning up a demon god? Kuno getting possessed by the ghost of Hanzo Hattori or Jubei Yagyu?"

"I don't know… It's kinda depressing though…" Ranma said, putting his arms behind his head and sighing.

"What is?" Akane asked.

"The fact that a normal day for us means that the apocalypse is tomorrow," Ranma said, looking up to the sky.

Akane scowled. "That is kinda depressing… Hey Ranma, I just thought of something…"

"Hm? Whazzat?" Ranma asked, a tired expression on his face as he looked down at Akane.

Akane grimaced. "Isn't today the day the day those new American exchange students are supposed to arrive?"

"Oh man," Ranma groaned, grimacing and covering his face in frustration, "As if the wanna-be American we got for a Principal wasn't enough…"

Akane scowled at him. "There's no reason to think that every American is like the principal. You're so childish sometimes, Ranma."

Ranma glared at her. "It's not like we don't have any evidence they're NOT, either!"

"You're such a cynic, Ranma!" Akane said, glaring right back at him.

"And YOU are an overly optimistic, totally uncute TOMBOY!" Ranma practically snarled.

Akane, infuriated, kicked the fence Ranma was standing on. The force of the kick knocked the section loose, Ranma yelping as both he and the fence section fell into the canal.

"Jerk…" Akane muttered, running on ahead.

Ranma, now in female form, pulled herself out of the water and shivered. "C-Cold… S-Stupid Akane…" she muttered. She looked over to where she had thrown her bookbag, months of this happening to her having taught her to do that so she didn't get her schoolbooks wet. As she went over to pick up her bags, a thought that was both comforting and depressing occurred to her.

"Huh…" she said, looking down at her female form. "Guess things are gonna be all right after all."

Calmed down, she picked up her bags and ran after Akane. She'd get some hot water and change back after she got to class.

After a few minutes of running, Ranma found herself at school. She ran into the gates, smirking at her good fortune. The late bell hadn't even rung yet.

"Ha. Perfect timing," Ranma said. She started to go inside, when she saw Akane beckoning her from around the corner of the building, where the assembly area was.

"Ranma, c'mon!" Akane said, "The principal's going to introduce the new exchange students before class today!"

Ranma frowned, and followed her around the building, joining the gathering of other students who were quietly murmuring at the six newcomers on the stage.

Ranma looked the six of them over, noting their builds and stances. "Well now…" Ranma said, smirking, "So this is who we got in place of Hiroshi, Daisuke, Yuka, Saiyuri & the others…"

Akane looked at him curiously. "Hm? What do you mean, Ranma?"

Ranma grinned, and gestured to them all. "Akane, look at them. They're all martial artists."

Akane seemed surprised. "You can tell that just from looking at them?" she said, looking them over, "But now that you mention it…"

Ranma nodded. She was about to elaborate, when boiling hot water was poured over her. "Agh, hot!"

Ukyo, clad in the uniform of her old school, her battle spatula firmly holstered on her back, smiled, throwing the tea kettle aside. "Sorry about that Ranma-honey, but I figured you'd want to be yourself to meet these newcomers."

Ranma nodded. "Didja have to make it so hot, though?"

Ukyo shrugged. "I had to grab it from the teachers' lounge. All the others had been used this week. Just be glad they hadn't put any tea in it yet."

Ranma sighed, and was about to say more, when a teacher stepped up to the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said in a rather nasally voice, "The principal shall now introduce our new exchange students."

"ALOHA, KEIKIS!" said a voice everyone knew and loathed. From the top of the building, a dark-skinned figure in a Hawaiian shirt and lei swung down on a vine, playing a ukulele the whole way. He landed gracefully on his feet, the six Americans looking visibly startled at his arrival.

"Me be welcomin' you to anudda fine day at Furinkan High School! Today be a very special day, 'cause joo favorite Principal be bringin' da big fun ya! Me be bringin' you da finest students from de high schools of Angel Grove, California in the United States of America."

"Angel Grove?" chuckled one student, "What a name for a town…"

"First, me be introducin' Jason Lee Scott, captain of de Angel Grove karate team," Principal Kuno said, gesturing to the tall, muscular young man in red. He stepped forward, a stunned expression on his face, but managed to turn his face to the crowd and give them a polite greeting.

_Captain of the karate team, eh? _Ranma thought, looking him over, _Should be interesting to see what he's got…_

"Next, me be bringin' de lovely and talented Trini Kwan," Principal Kuno said, gesturing to a young Asian-looking girl in yellow.

Trini stepped forward, an incredulous look on her face as she stared at the Principal. She caught herself after a moment, and bowed to the crowd. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," she said.

"She can certainly speak the language…" Ukyo said, "We sure she's American?"

Akane looked at her thoughtfully. "I think she may be Vietnamese, actually…"

"She be joinin' de school Volleyball team, so be treatin' her nice, 'kay? And next up we got Billy Cranston, who have de best grades in his entire class!" Principal Kuno said, gesturing to the slightly nerdy-looking young man in blue.

Billy just stared at the Principal, a mix of horror and utter confusion on his face. Principal Kuno poked him. "Hey. Keiki."

Billy blinked, and fumbled with his glasses, startled out of his trance. "Oh. S-Sorry, sir," he said, stepping forward and bowing in greeting. "It's an honor to be here," he said, getting back in line with the others.

Ukyo grinned. "Nice to know that Principal Kuno is offensive in any culture," she quipped, getting a laugh from Ranma and Akane.

"Mistah Cranston be joinin' de school science team. Now for de next, we have de lovely Kimberly Hart!"

A slender young girl in revealing jean shorts and a pink top stepped forward. She gave a bow, but didn't take her eyes off of the Principal, a confused and slightly suspicious look on her face.

"Miss Hart be joinin' da school gymnastics team, so all you wahines be sure to make her feel welcome, ya!"

"Hmm…" Akane said, "I should probably warn her about Kodachi…"

"And we should warn both the girls about Happosai…" Ukyo added.

Akane nodded. "Can't forget him…"

"Much as we would like to…" Ranma muttered.

Principal Kuno continued his introductions. "Next up," he said, pointing to the dark-skinned young man in black, "Me be introducin' Zachary Taylor!"

Zack shook his head, and walked forward, bowing to the crowd. "Sorry about this, ladies. The Zack-man's usually a bit more stylin' than this, but after seein' this loon, I'm a bit off my game," he said, giving a charming smile.

"Perfectly understandable," said one of the girls in the crowd, she and her friends blushing a little.

Ranma rolled his eyes a little at Zack's comments, but watched his almost dance-like movements as he backed up to join the others. _Interesting…_he thought.

"Finally," Principal Kuno said, garnering much relief from many of the students, "me be introducin' de last of our new exchange students, Tommy Oliver!"

A tall, lanky-young man in green stepped forward, nodding politely in greeting, a friendly smile on his face. Several of the girls in the audience seemed interested in him. Ranma was interested as well, but for other reasons.

Tommy's stance seemed relaxed, nonchalant. But to Ranma's trained eye, Tommy's stance was the sort of 'relaxed readiness' one sees only in master martial artists.

Tommy stepped back, putting his arm around Kimberly, who responded in kind. Principal Kuno stepped up to the podium at center stage again, microphone in hand.

"Me be showin' you bad keikis dat de American students be good! Dey be showin' dat you always respect de headmaster, and do what he be sayin' always! And to show dat," he said, disappearing with the microphone and reappearing behind Tommy, grabbing his ponytail, "De boys be gettin' de buzz cuts, de girls be gettin' de bowl cuts!"

The six Americans seemed visibly startled by that, which didn't escape the interest of the students. The teachers moaned collectively, save for Hinako, who looked at them all curiously. Principal Kuno threw away the microphone and pulled out a pair of barber shears, ready to cut Tommy's ponytail off.

"Now WAIT A MINUTE!" Tommy said, gripping the principal's hand with the shears in it "We never agreed to this!"

The lunatic principal just laughed. "Be good, keiki! Show dem what de American educational system be like and gimmie dat ponytail!"

"I don't think so," Tommy said, a sneer on his face as he threw the principal over his shoulder.

Principal Kuno flipped to his feet, having become used to being tossed around by angry students, producing a second pair of shears.

"Be good, keiki! Is school policy to have de buzz cuts and de bowl cuts!" Principal Kuno said, grinning his mad grin.

"But sir," Billy said, the confusion on his face clearly evident as he looked over the crowd, "If it's school policy, why don't any of the other students have buzz cuts or bowl cuts?"

"Dey be bad keiki, Mistah Cranston. You be good keiki and lemme shave dat head, yah?" Principal Kuno said, taking a fighting stance.

"…I'd rather not, sir, if it's all the same to you," Billy said.

"The man's a lunatic," Kimberly muttered.

"Agreed," Jason said, "Into formation!"

To everyone's surprise, the six of them took a battle formation. Zack and Kimberly took a low stance, Billy and Trini standing off to the side, Jason and Tommy back to back, each one in a fight-ready posture. Principal Kuno seemed a bit unsettled by this. He had never had a truly unified attempt against him before, just a mob.

Ranma was getting VERY interested now. "Not just martial artists, but a TEAM of them… Okay, this is getting fun…" As the six exchange students faced off with the Principal, their battle auras began to flare. But strangely enough, the auras around the exchange students was accompanied by colorful lightning… Ranma stared in confusion, a strange sensation coming off of the six of them.

Principal Kuno scowled. "You all be good keiki and get you haircuts right now!" he snapped, lunging at the six of them.

It was over almost before it began. Kimberly and Zack shot forward, launching a pair of thrust kicks to the principal's stomach that sent him higher into the air. As they both spun back to their feet, Billy and Trini moved, leaping up and launching a pair of kicks that sent him shooting back down to Tommy and Jason. Tommy and Jason thrust their fists forward at the same time, striking the Principal in the chest and sending him flying off of the stage.

"So much for the haircuts," Zack said, watching in amusement as Principal Kuno slammed against a tree, slumping forward as he fell unconscious.

"Can't believe the school is run by this… TOMMY!" Kimberly said, noticing Hinako for the first time. Jason and Tommy whirled, surprised to see a young girl staring at them disapprovingly.

"Naughty delinquent students!" she said, holding up a coin, "Happo Five Yen Satsu!"

Jason and Tommy felt a sudden draining sensation, their legs starting to become wobbly as Hinako drained their battle auras. Thinking quickly, Jason moved the podium in front of the two of them and ducked behind it, Tommy following behind. Kimberly ran forward, leaped on their shoulders, and performed a perfect gymnastic flip forward, bringing her leg down in a fast, arching kick that knocked the coin from her hand.

Hinako yelped, falling backwards as Kimberly landed, moving the podium aside and tending to Tommy, Zack, Trini, and Billy coming over to help Jason.

"You guys okay?" Zack asked, "What was she DOING to you?!"

"I'm not sure…" Jason said, starting to feel himself recover, "but it was weird, whatever it was."

Hinako gave Kimberly a baleful look. "You hurt me! Meanie!" she said, wailing and flailing her arms as she ran off.

Kimberly stared after her, concerned. She had just meant to disarm the girl, not hurt her.

"Relax," said a teacher, "She's so much of a flake she'll have forgotten about it in a few minutes."

Kimberly stared at the teacher in confusion. "…If you say so," she said.

Another teacher chuckled. "Stand up and take your applause, kids. You just made an entire school of friends."

Confused, the six Americans stood up, noticing for the first time that the students were applauding and cheering them. They took their bows and walked off the stage, still confused but pleased that they hadn't freaked anyone out.

"Hey, nice job on taking out the principal," said one student, patting Tommy on the back as he passed by.

"Umm… Thank you?" Tommy said, more confused than ever now.

"If you're worried about the principal and Miss Hinako," said one girl, giving Kimberly a friendly handshake, "Don't be. Miss Hinako will have forgotten about it all by the time you get to class, and the Principal's taken far worse from the rest of us."

"…That little girl was a teacher?" Kimberly said.

"Yep. She can absorb battle auras to grow into an adult. Pretty swift, the way you six took her out of play."

"…" Kimberly was at a loss for words.

The six of them made their way through the crowd of students, receiving many different forms of thanks and congratulations. Eventually they made their way to the back, where they met a young man in Chinese garb standing next to a pair of girls, one in a school uniform, the other girl in a boy's uniform with a bandoleer of spatulas over her chest, a giant, almost battleaxe-like spatula mounted on her back.

Ranma reached out to shake Jason's hand. "Hey, nice job with the Principal," he said, "I'm Ranma Saotome. This is Akane Tendo and Ukyo Kuonji"

"Hey, it's good to meet you," Jason said, reflexively glancing over Ranma and assessing him automatically, Ranma doing the same as the shook hands. Seemingly pleased by what they found, they broke the handshake.

"Anyway," Ranma said, "Welcome to Furinkan. You guys are in homeroom with the three of us. Also, there's a few things you need to know about before you settle in."

"Oh really?" Billy asked, curious and eager to learn.

Ranma nodded, chuckling weakly. "Yeah. Things are… strange, here…"

Kimberly flashed a scowl at Billy, who paled visibly. "Define… 'strange,'" she said.

"RANMA SAOTOME!!" bellowed another all-too-familiar voice, "PREPARE TO DIE!!" Akane, Ukyo, and Ranma took on identical scowls as a bokken-wielding man in a dark blue kendo uniform ran towards them all.

"Not now…" Ranma muttered.

"Who's THIS lunatic?!" Trini asked.

"Tatewaki Kuno. Just gimmie a sec and I'll…"

"Zack," Jason said simply.

"On it," the dark-skinned teenager said. Moving with surprising speed, Zack stepped in front of Kuno just as he reached Ranma, grabbing his bokken out of his hands, twirling it around in an almost dance-like motion, and sheathing it in Kuno's belt before he realized what happens.

Ranma grinned. He was liking these six more and more.

"Hey!" Zack said, "I'm Zack, it's great ta meetcha!" He grinned that charming grin of his. Kuno, baffled for a moment, looked Zack over with confusion after noting that his sword was suddenly sheathed. After a moment, he blinked and nodded.

"Oh! Yes," he said, "You must be the exchange students spoken of earlier."

"Sure thing, big man. I'm Zack, as mentioned before, this is my main man Jason, also Tommy, plus everyone's favorite gal pal Kimberly, Trini, who's been a friend of mine since childhood, and the brains of our little outfit, Billy."

Kuno nodded to each one of them in turn. "Greetings, one and all. I am Tatewaki Kuno, rising star of the kendo world and renowned throughout Japan as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School!" he said, complete with a flash of lightning from the otherwise cloudless sky as he held his bokken up for dramatic effect.

Billy and Jason both gave Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo confused looks. Ranma shook his head. "I haven't figured out how he does that yet…"

"I officially welcome you to Furinkan High School, and hope that your year here will be both educational and edifying. I know that thou art from Barbarian lands," he said, unknowingly earning scowls from the six of them, "But I am certain that time amongst greatness such as myself shall leave you the better for it."

Trini decided to play diplomat. "I'm certain it will be, Upperclassman Kuno. And thank you for the kind greeting. It's an honor to meet you."

Naturally, Kuno misinterpreted Trini's remark as a come-on. "Ah, I see my charms have already started to have an affect on you," he said, snapping forward suddenly and grabbing Trini in a loving embrace, "Oh what a handsome devil I am, charming someone even from the Western wastes…"

"Hands off," Trini said, striking him in the stomach with a knife-hand blow. Kuno staggered back, winded, and chuckled.

"Ah, such spirit to match your beauty, and yet so shy. So much like my fair pig-tailed girl. Aah… Dear Trini, know that I am not the sort to be easily discouraged. My affection for you shall live on."

Trini frowned and took a Mantis stance. "I don't know what sort of delusional world you live in, but I did not come onto you. I don't want to hurt you, Upperclassman, but if you don't settle down, I will.

Kuno scoffed. "As if a mere damsel could hurt me," he said.

Akane rubbed her temples, irritated by Kuno's prattle, and prepared to show him how much a 'mere damsel' could hurt him, when Ranma grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"Ranma, what…" she started, but then noticed what Ranma was staring at.

Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Tommy, and Billy had all taken up positions with Trini in a full circle around Kuno, the kendoist looking around him with alarm.

"You would assault me dishonorably with a group attack?" Kuno snapped.

"The lady said to leave her alone, m'man," Zack said.

"I know what I heard," Kuno snapped.

"Then hear this Kuno," Tommy said, his voice low and dangerous, "You're threatening a friend of ours. We're a team, and we don't take that lightly."

Kuno looked around himself, seeing the anger, the steel in the six sets of eyes glaring at him. For the first time in his life, he realized that he was completely outmatched. He looked to Akane for assistance, but seeing that the foul sorcerer Saotome was holding her back, he decided to relent.

This time.

"Know this, American barbarians," Kuno said, "You have not seen the last of the Blue Thunder. And as for you, foul sorcerer Saotome, you shall regret preventing the fair Akane from coming to my aid. This I swear."

Slowly, a dramatic wind kicking up suddenly to accentuate his exit, he left the circle of fighters. Only when he was out of visual range did the six of them relax.

Ranma sighed. Ukyo shook her head. "That's one of the things we need to tell you about. Tatewaki Kuno, resident swordsman, lunatic, and would-be lover to any girl he finds interesting, which sadly includes Akane and apparently now you, Trini."

"Marvelous," Trini muttered, "That's all I need."

"Anything else we need to know?" Jason added, warily staring after Kuno.

Ranma nodded. "C'mon in the building and we'll tell you everything."

After taking no more than ten steps as a group, Murphy's Law asserted itself once more, a small, troll-like creature leaping up and attaching itself to Trini's chest.

"You must be the new exchange students! Lemme give you a proper welcome!" said the creature before it started nuzzling Trini's breasts through her shirt.

"YAAAAAAAGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!!!!" shrieked Trini. Jason, Billy, and Ranma moved to strike the creature, when it suddenly leaped off and attached itself to Kimberly's chest.

As Kimberly screamed in protest, the creature nuzzled her chest lovingly. "Oooh, 'Made in the USA' really DOES mean high-quality product!!" it said, cackling.

Tommy, infuriated, moved to knock the creature off. But again it proved too fast. It vaulted off of Kimberly's chest, and the six Americans saw for the first time that the creature was a little old man.

"What in blazes is that thing!?" Billy said.

"That," Akane almost snarled, "is Happosai. Nerima's resident panty thief, unrepentant pervert, and UNFORTUNATELY one of the most powerful martial artists in the entire district."

"Little bastard," Ranma muttered, "They just GOT HERE!! At LEAST give them a chance to settle in before you make their lives miserable!"

Happosai scoffed. "Aw, c'mon Ranma! Don't deny an old man his fu… eh?"

Ranma blinked, seeing the old man suddenly become wary. He turned, and saw Kimberly's battle aura flaring wildly, pink lightning starting to flow around her. She was breathing heavily, her eyes glowing with pink energy in her fury.

"Miserable… old… PERVERT!!!" she snarled, "RULES BE DAMNED, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"

Kimberly pulled what looked like a belt-buckle off of her back, thrusting it forward. The pink lightning flowing around her started to grow even more intense. Ranma looked over to Happosai, who actually started to seem nervous, and then back to Kimberly.

"PTERODA…" Kimberly started to say. But, to the surprise of Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo, her five friends moved to stop her, Tommy clamping a powerful hand over her mouth as Trini and Zack held her arms, Billy holding a leg and Jason standing in front of her, a fist just inches from her midsection. Ranma frowned, as he thought he heard Tommy hiss "Not here, not now!!" into her ear, followed by a furitive glance in Ranma's direction. The pink lightning faded as a horrified look came to Kimberly's face, as if she realized what she was about to do. When she had calmed down, the others let her go, checking to see if they had handled her too roughly.

"What was that about?" Ranma said, "Was that some kind of attack?"

Kimberly giggled nervously. "Just some temper-control issues I have, heheh…"

"Huh…" Ranma said, not quite believing it but deciding to let it go for now, "Well, maybe you and Akane should get together then."

"Excuse me?!" Akane said, glaring at Ranma.

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked.

Ranma pointed to Akane and said, "The tomboy here has the worst temper of all time."

This, naturally, caused the usual reaction of Akane producing a hammer out of nowhere and pounding Ranma into the floor.

She stormed in, grumbling, as Ranma groaned in pain and muttered, "See what I mean?"

Ukyo grinned despite herself. The six Americans gave her a confused look.

Ukyo sighed, and used her giant spatula to scrape Ranma up off the floor. "This sort of stuff happens like, daily," she said.

"Daily," Tommy said, clearly flabbergasted by the whole ordeal.

Ukyo nodded. "As for Ranma-honey, he'll be fine in a minute. He's taken far worse hits than this. I own the okonomiyaki place downtown, Ucchan's, so after classes why don't you head down there? I'll treat you all to some real Japanese cuisine. After that, I'll take you all to the Tendo Dojo and Akane and Ranma can explain the rest of the weirdness around here."

"Um…" Jason said, looking around at the others, who nodded, still unsure of what was going on, "Okay. We'll be there."

Ukyo nodded, and waved goodbye to them. "Shoe racks and lockers are just inside. See you in class!" she said, walking inside with the flattened remains of Ranma balanced over her shoulder on her oversized spatula.

Kimberly chuckled, the sound one of dismay. "'C'mon guys, let's go to Japan for a year,' you said," Kimberly muttered, "'It'll be a fun experience. And won't it be nice to have some normalcy?'"

"I didn't know it'd be like this," Billy protested.

"C'mon guys, let's go inside. We still have to get through classes," Jason said, the group going inside.

Up on the rooftop, Happosai smoked his pipe, totally lost in thought. "What is it about that power that American girl was radiating… I know I haven't seen it before… so why is it… so familiar?"

Up on the moon, a repulsive sorceress in a demonic castle watched Happosai with growing interest through her telescope.

"Mistress Rita," thundered her golden-armored, ape-like warrior, "What is it?"

"I think…" said Rita Repulsa, a smile growing on her face, "…that I know that man… Or at least his ancestor…"

**+++ TO BE CONTINUED +++**


	3. First Classes and First Pawns

_Furinkan High School… _+++  
_During classes…_+++

After trading their outside shoes for their inside shoes, the six Americans followed Ukyo up to their homeroom and first class, Ranma picking himself up and recovering at a surprisingly quick rate. He showed them where they were supposed to sit, in a group around he, Akane, and Ukyo, and then sat down in his own seat… promptly going to sleep.

"Um…" Jason said.

Akane rolled her eyes. "Yeah. She's a dedicated teacher, and sincerely wants everyone to graduate. But very rarely does Miss Hinako get through a class without getting distracted somehow, so it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll have to have something else to do."

Zack grinned. "I like this."

"But… but class is… studying…" Billy said, a baffled look on his face.

Kimberly frowned, and turned to Akane, asking, "What was that thing with the coin Miss Hinako was trying to do to Jason and Tommy earlier?"

Ukyo leaned in, curious. "Actually, I was kinda curious about that myself. I know it has something to do with the old lech and some pressure points…"

Akane sighed. "Most of this I got from the town chiropractor, Dr. Tofu Ono, after he did a check-up on her. The little pervert you had the misfortune of meeting earlier is to blame for her, although he gave her that ability partially out of one of his rare acts of kindness. A few years back, he encountered a sick little girl in a hospital he was planning to perform a panty raid on. He felt sorry for her, but also wanted a way to steal the panties of the nurses cleanly, so he gave her some pressure point treatment. It changed her metabolism, and now she ages at a much slower rate. It also gave her the ability to absorb battle auras through any sort of circular hole, which ages her into an adult, and then shoot it back as an energy projectile. She's apparently in her mid-twenties, so her adult body is her real one. Luckily for us, she has the attention span of a child, so she's easy to distract."

Tommy shook his head. "That's crazy…"

"Crazy is common here, stud," Ukyo said, chucking weakly, "You'll either get used to it quickly or you'll have a psychotic break. And lemme tell you, I'm still not sure if there's a difference…"

Billy frowned. "Isn't there any way to block her powers?"

Ranma, who had woken up at the sound of conversation, sighed. "Yeah. There's a series of pressure points you have to press once every day for a month to permanently block her powers and, according to the old man, get her back in her adult body permanently, undoing the effects of what he did. There's a minor problem, though."

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

He lightly poked Jason, who was sitting right in front of him, in the back. "That's one of them. Ukyo, show them the rest."

Ukyo sighed, and poked five different points around one of her breasts. The six Americans got it quickly.

"Oh… Oh!" Jason said, blushing furiously.

Zack snickered. "Yeah, I can see how that could be a problem."

Ranma shook his head. "If I grab her as an adult, I look like a pervert. If I grab her as a kid, I look like a pedophile. After the first fiasco, I decided to just avoid her at all costs."

It was Trini who first noticed it. "'According to the old man?'"

Ranma and Akane sighed wearily. Ukyo shook her head, and leaned forward, lowering her voice a little. "The old pervert who grabbed onto Kimberly and Trini? Please don't spread this around, but he lives with the Tendos and the Saotomes."

"What?" Kimberly said, horrified, "Why don't they just kick him out?"

"We've tried," Ranma said, "Repeatedly. The problem is, the old fart's the most powerful martial artist in town. Me, Pops, Akane's dad… Heck, at one time I managed to get some of my enemies to help me out, but we all lost anyway. He's just too strong. The only one who can come close to matching him is the old ghoul who runs the Chinese food place in the restaurant district, and even she has trouble dealing with him. There are a few tricks that can be used to beat him down, but nothing that can drive him away."

"He did seem afraid when you did that pink lightning trick earlier," Akane said, causing all six Americans to flinch nervously, "What was that anyway?"

"Shouldn't Miss Hinako be here by now?" Kimberly said in a deliberate and obvious attempt to change the subject. As if on cue, a happily giggling Miss Hinako ran by the window, chasing a butterfly.

Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo traded looks, concerned about Kimberly's evasiveness, but decided to let it go for now. A moment later, Hinako remembered that she had a class, and hopped in a nearby open window.

"Okay class! Before we begin, the principal's asked me to do a contraband check! Please empty your desks," she said, smiling sweetly.

There was a collective groan from the students as they emptied their desks out, revealing a collection of sweets, plushies, non-school related books, and so forth. The Americans didn't have anything to put out other than school supplies.

Hinako began trotting about the room, collecting the various objects, occasionally stopping to play with the game systems, munch on someone's sweets, or hug an especially adorable plushie. She stopped at Billy's desk, looking over what he had. She was about to move on when she noticed the buckle-like object mounted on the back of his belt, as well as the rather unusual watch on his wrist.

"Oooh, neato!" she said, looking at the watch, "What is that? It looks like a radio!"

Billy gulped nervously, and managed to force a grin. "Why… Why yes, that's exactly what it is! It's a multi-way communicator of my own design!"

Ranma glanced at Billy's friends, noticing them all staring at Miss Hinako intently, each one looking like they were ready to fight.

Hinako giggled. "So cool. But you need to put it in my little collection box, Mister Cranston. That buckle thing, too. If your friends have them too, you all have to give them up."

Billy frowned, looking desperately at the others, and then shook his head. "…Miss Hinako, I'm sorry, but I'd really rather not."

"What's he doing?" Akane muttered to Ranma, "You usually steal everything back at the end of the day anyway, so why's he making a big deal out of this?"

"There's something more here, Akane. Something we're not seeing," Ranma said, watching Jason and the others stand up, cautiously watching Hinako.

"I've invited them over for okonomiyaki after class and was planning on taking them to your place afterwards… Maybe then…"

Hinako gave him an adorable frown. "Please, Mister Cranston, it's important that you do this so we can get started! Just put them in the box. Please? For me?"

Billy shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's kind of important that these stay with us."

Hinako frowned. "Why? It's just a doohickey! C'mon, be good! Put the stuff in the box," she said, grabbing for the buckle-like object. Billy quickly stood up, taking a Tae Kwan Do stance. Ranma reflexively assessed him as an opponent, judging him to be a blue belt at best.

Hinako scowled, and noticed for the first time that the other five Americans had taken up fighting stances.

"Okay, you want to be delinquents about this?" Hinako said, pulling a coin out of her pocket, "I can handle that. I've cleaned up the acts of tougher punks than all of you!"

Akane and Ukyo traded worried looks. "Um, Ranma?" Ukyo said, "I think we'll forgive you grabbing her breasts this time. This looks like it's gonna go bad QUICKLY…"

Ranma frowned. "The six of them have some explaining to do after this…"

Students ducked under their desks, hiding themselves as best they could, those closest to the door simply fleeing… and promptly spreading the fact that the exchange students were going to fight with Miss Hinako. In the senior classes, Nabiki Tendo promptly began taking bets on the fight, making her way towards Ranma's homeroom, a moderately interested Tatewaki Kuno following her.

"Happo Five Yen Satsu!" she shouted, the coin glowing slightly. She felt a little of Billy's battle aura flow into her, but to her surprise, he reacted quickly enough to swat the coin out of her hand. She stuffed her hand into her pocket and produced another coin, warily looking at the others, noticing for the first time that Ranma was moving as well, most likely to block her powers.

"We don't want this fight, Miss Hinako," Jason said, silently wondering how things had gone so bad so quickly, "But it's important that the 'buckle-things' and the communicators stay with us."

"I have to do my job as a teacher," Hinako protested, aiming the coin in various directions, trying to decide how to deal with this suddenly unified threat. _If I try to drain one, another one of the gang will disarm me, or Ranma will block my powers for the day… If I try to drain Ranma, one of the other delinquents will disarm me… I don't think they want to hurt me, but… Grrr, thinking this seriously is giving me a headache_… she thought.

Trini, again playing the diplomat, lowered her stance a little and said, "Miss Hinako, I can assure you that us having these won't interfere with our education. If we can promise that, isn't there no reason to take our things?"

Hinako frowned. "You… You have a point, Miss Kwan," Hinako conceded, smirking softly as she heard the sound of other students approaching, "But school rules are school rules, and I mean to see that they are obeyed!"

Surprising her seven opponents, she ran for the door. Ranma was the first to realize what she was doing.

"Oh man, she's going for other students!"

"Let's move!" Jason said, the six Americans and Ranma running out the door after her, albeit far too late to stop her.

"Happo Fifty Yen Satsu!"

The six Americans could only watch, stunned, as Hinako drained the auras of several students, her body growing and swelling out until she changed from child to gloriously sexy adult, her victims withering until they became paper thin and weightless, drifting gently on the breeze.

"Oh my god," Kimberly said, one of the drained students floating by her face as Miss Hinako turned to them all and smirked.

"There," she said, "Enough for five small shots, or one big one. Time to put you delinquents in your place." Hinako made a circular sign with her thumbs and forefingers, energy gathering in the opening they made.

"Get ready to dodge," Ranma muttered.

"HAPPO NO YEN RETURN!" she shouted, firing a blast of energy too large and too fast for even Ranma to dodge. The seven combatants were knocked back down the hall, taken completely off guard.

They all slammed into the far wall, and fell to the ground in a loose heap. Ranma groaned, his body feeling like he had just taken a pounding from Ryoga's fists at supersonic speed. He rolled to his hands and knees, and starting to struggle to get up, Hinako calmly stalking towards them, back in child form and flipping a fifty-yen coin. To his surprise, he noticed the other Americans starting to get up as well, in visible pain but recovering faster than he would have expected.

"You guys have some experience with energy blasts?" Ranma asked.

"Little bit," Zack admitted, "We'll explain later…"

Hinako stood over them, smirking. "You delinquents ready to behave and hand over the watches and buckle-thingys?"

Jason just glared at her. He wanted to swat that coin out of her hands, but right now his body felt like it was on fire. He could barely stand up, much less move his arms. He quickly glanced at the others, and saw them in similar condition. Hinako shook her head.

"Fine. You brought this on yourselves," she said, aiming the coin at Kimberly, "I think I'll start with you, since I just remembered you kicked me at assembly today."

Kimberly stared fearfully up at Hinako, the memory of what those other students looked like still fresh in her mind. Hinako just smirked. "Happo Fifty Yen Satsu!"

"NO!!" Tommy shouted, using the last of his strength to throw himself in front of Kimberly. His battle aura flared as the coin glowed, starting to pull it into Hinako through the hole in the center of it. But instead of growing weaker, the aura flared brighter, green lightning starting to crackle around Tommy's body.

Hinako felt her body change, growing back to adulthood. She tried to break off the attack, gripping her arm and trying to pull it away, but something was different.

"I can't… I can't stop…" Hinako said, suddenly fearful.

"What's going on?!" Ranma demanded.

"I… I don't know!" Jason said, "Nothing like this has ever happened to us before!"

Everyone stared at the sudden reversal of fortune. Tommy's battle aura was flaring brightly, green lightning sparking around him as his eyes glowed. Visible only to Hinako's eyes, Tommy's aura briefly turned into a bright green dragon, which roared at her angrily. And then, again visible only to Hinako, an aura of pure darkness welled up from within Tommy, chuckling demonically as it flowed through the coin and into Hinako, the force of it knocking her back as if struck.

_The Cat Café_…+++

As Cologne prepared to start getting the store ready for the lunch rush, she felt a sudden chill wash over her, a feeling of evil more intense than anything she had ever felt in her 100+ years of life

"Something is wrong…" she said, looking around, trying to determine the source of the feeling and being unable to, "Something is very wrong…"

_Furinkan High School_…+++

Hinako collapsed, unconscious and still in her adult form, Tommy collapsing into Kimberly's lap. The others gathered around Tommy.

"You okay, man?" Zack asked.

"Please be all right…" Kimberly said, gently shaking him.

"Is Miss Hinako all right?" Akane asked from the doorway.

Ranma went over and checked her pulse. "Yeah, she's fine, she's just unconscious," he said, chuckling lightly as he stared at Tommy, who was slowly coming to his senses, "Guess something she ate disagreed with her."

"Unngh… That was… not pleasant…" Tommy said.

"You gonna be all right, man?" Jason asked.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah…" he said, a surprised look coming to his face, "…To tell you the truth, I feel better than I have in months…"

Billy frowned, and leaned in close, whispering, "Still, I'd be able to sleep better if Zordon took a look at you. First chance you get, you should teleport to the Command Center."

Tommy just nodded.

Kimberly hugged him tightly, glad he was okay, and helped him to his feet.

"Hey guys," Zack said, "I think we just unintentionally did something right again."

It was then that they all noticed the applause.

"That was INCREDIBLE!" said one student.

"I've NEVER seen anyone stand up to Miss Hinako and WIN before!" said another.

"Looks like I've got some competition," Ranma said with a smirk, "Excellent."

The six Americans smiled nervously, greatly confused with everything. The applause died quickly, however, when a couple teachers came out. The two teachers collected the drained students and helped a dazed Miss Hinako up.

"Is she going to be all right?" Kimberly said.

The male teacher checked on her, and she nodded. "She's no more dazed than our beloved lunatic of a principal is after a beating. We'll send her home for the day."

Billy frowned, and stepped forward. "Sir, the fight was my fault. I didn't want to give up some of my personal belongings, and asserted myself. The others just jumped up to help me."

Ranma marveled at this. It was rare that someone stepped up like that to take responsibility.

The female teacher chuckled. "Don't be too worried, son. The rule to take students' personal property was something the principal cooked up, so we can appreciate you wanting to keep your stuff. As for Miss Hinako, well… She's a dedicated teacher, and she means well, but she needs to work on some of her methods."

Miss Hinako glared at her. "I'm right here, you know…" she muttered.

The male teacher smirked at her. "Well, you do," he insisted, before turning back to Ranma, Billy, and the others, "As for all of you, while this could technically be considered defending yourself, you all still have to be punished. For your next couple of classes, you seven are in detention."

Ukyo chuckled softly. "We're not even done with homeroom, Ranma. This has to be a new record for you."

Akane smiled warmly. "Don't worry, we'll take notes for you as always."

Ranma nodded, sighing. "Thanks Akane."

The bell to change classes rang, and everyone began heading off to class.

"Okay, we just had a battle here and everyone's acting naturally…" Zack said, confused.

Ranma smirked. "You'd be surprised at how often fights happen here, now c'mon, let's get the buckets. You guys are becoming more and more interesting every minute."

"Wonderful," Trini muttered, "Wait, buckets?"

Ranma sighed. "Detention involves us holding buckets of water while standing in the hallway," he said, "which sucks for me in more ways than one."

The six Americans gave Ranma a confused look. He frowned, as if debating internally for a moment, and sighed. "C'mon. I'd rather you find out on my terms than through some stupid accident. You would've found out eventually anyway."

Jason frowned. "Found what out?"

"You'll see," Ranma said, "C'mon."

Ranma led them to a janitor's closet, where several stacks of buckets awaited. Ranma filled up one from the hose… and proceeded to dump it over himself. He felt his body tingle as his curse activated, his body shrinking down as he became a buxom red-headed girl.

Needless to say, the six Americans were stunned.

"…H-how?" Tommy managed after a moment.

"About a year ago, my Pop and I were training in China. We came to the Cursed Springs at Jusenkyo. But since my Pop can't read a word of Chinese, and neither of us had the sense to listen to the guide before starting to spar, we didn't know that at first. We both hopped up on the bamboo balance poles for some training. I managed to knock Pop into one of the springs… where he promptly turned into a panda. Needless to say, I was a LITTLE bit surprised, and he used that to knock me off of my pole and into a spring that turned me into a girl. From then on out, whenever I get splashed with cold water, I turn female. Hot water turns me back to normal."

"That's… wow… man, don't take this the wrong way but you are HOT," Zack said, earning him an annoyed smack from Ranma. Zack took it in stride, blocking the blow, and snickered.

"How were the springs cursed?" Trini asked.

"The springs are cursed with whatever drowned there however many years ago," Ranma said, "Aside from me and Pop, there's about a half-dozen others that are cursed that I know of."

"This is crazy…" Kimberly said, trying not to feel envious that Ranma's bust was bigger than her own. She managed it. Partially.

"Fascinating!" Billy said, leaning in to examine Ranma more closely, unintentionally looking perverse as he looked Ranma's curvaceous body over, "Is it a complete gender change? Does your mental functions work as a female in this form? Do you have female bodily functions?"

"Your geek friend is about three seconds away from being flattened here," Ranma snarled.

"Down boy," Zack said, grabbing the collar of Billy's shirt and pulling him back.

"Sorry, force of habit…" Billy said, blushing. Ranma rolled her eyes, and began filling the buckets, Jason and Tommy coming over to help.

"No biggie, it's just irritating to have someone lookin' me over like that when I'm not trying to con some free sweets out of someone," she said, filling the buckets again.

"Oh please," Trini and Kimberly said.

"Oh admit it you two," Ranma said, smirking, "You've used your looks to con some guys into giving you free sweets now and then."

Trini couldn't keep a straight face, and giggled. Kimberly smirked. "Once or twice," she admitted.

"And it's usually me she's conning," Tommy said, giving her an amused glare.

"Hah," Ranma said, "C'mon, let's get moving."

Buckets filled, they all started for the next class. As they left, Trini held Ranma back briefly.

"When you got mad at Billy earlier…" Trini said, "…It's because the answer to his questions was yes, wasn't it?"

Ranma blinked, surprised that she could figure it out, and nodded sadly. "Yeah… It's… It's kind of embarassing… Akane's the only other one who knows that I have periods when I'm… like this…"

Trini nodded. She had always been good at seeing the truth behind what people say. "I won't tell the others. If you need someone to talk to…" she said.

Ranma smiled warmly. "Thanks Trini," she said, the two of them going to join the others.

_Hinako Ninomiya's apartment…_+++  
_Later… _+++

Hinako didn't know why she hadn't turned back into a child yet. Normally, the charge from absorbing a battle aura faded after a while if she didn't release it. But now, she remained in adult form. She lay on her bed, tossing and turning as she tried to sleep. She simply couldn't get comfortable…

"Ngh… this is unbearable…" she said, getting up to get something to eat, "Maybe a snack will calm me down…"

She walked into her kitchen, opening the refrigerator, hoping to find a sweet pastry to eat. Instead, upon opening the door, she found maggoty fruit, rotted and wormy vegetables, and instant meals that had putrefied into something disgusting-looking.

She yelped, backing up, only to find that her apartment was changing around her. Anime posters became rusted and bloody instruments of torture. Appliances became dark, sinister machines, spewing out steam along the ground. Every light in the room shattered, turning into glowing blue flames as her once bright and cheerful home turned into a dungeon nightmare.

"What… What's going on…?!" Hinako said, scared out of her mind. She looked around frantically, pulling a coin out of her pocket reflexively.

"Hinako Ninomiya…" said a hissing voice that came from no specific direction.

"Who's there?!" Hinako said, her voice quavering with fear.

"My name is Rita Repulsa…" said the voice.

"Who… Who are you!?" Hinako shouted.

"And I have an offer for you…"

"What do you want!?" Hinako said, aiming the coin in every direction, trying to find the source of the frightening voice.

"You have absorbed the latent, suppressed evil from my treasonous servant, the Green Ranger…" said Rita.

"Please… Please, just leave me alone!" Hinako said, sobbing helplessly, falling to her knees and covering her head.

"You have absorbed pure evil into you, my dear… You are pure evil now…"

"NO!" Hinako shrieked, tears flowing steadily down her face as she curled up into a fetal position, rocking back and forth on the ground, "Hinako's a good girl, a GOOD GIRL!!"

Hinako felt a finger on her chin, and looked up into the demonic eyes of Rita Repulsa for the first time.

"Not anymore," said Rita, grinning viciously.

Hinako began to scream.

_Tendo Dojo… _+++

"I must say, Master," Soun said, smiling amiably, "It's surprising to see you back so early, and without anything new for your collection."

Happosai sipped his tea, grumbling, "Yeah well… Somethin' about those exchange students made me nervous, is all…"

_They spooked the Master? _Soun thought, visibly restraining his urge to giggle,_Impressive. Maybe they'll make him move out. …I wonder if any of them would mind becoming Kasumi or Nabiki's fiancée?_

Happosai grumbled into his tea again, and was about to polish it off and go to his room, when a sudden chill struck him.

"Such intense power…" he said.

Soun blinked, startled out of happy fantasies of he, Genma, Ranma, and the exchange students beating Happosai to a pulp. "Hm? Master?"

"Can't you feel it?" Happosai said, looking around frantically, "An intense, evil power… Greater than anything I've ever felt before…"

Soun, to his credit, resisted the urge to say "I don't need to feel an intense evil Master, you're standing right next to me." Instead, he tried to sense what his master was talking about. Finding nothing, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry Master, but I just don't know what you're talking about…"

Happosai licked his lips nervously. The surge of evil power was already fading. But he knew that there was something more evil than he was out there now…

The thought was frightening…

_Cat Café…_+++

Cologne silently watched as her great-granddaughter, Shampoo, and her swordmate and would-be lover, Mousse, set up tables and chairs for the eventual opening. She still couldn't get that surge of evil power out of her head. She wished she knew were it came from.

She chuckled softly as Mousse made another attempt to show his love for Shampoo. Sadly, the boy removed his glasses to do it, so he ended up confessing his love and affection to one of the Shiisa in the corner of the store. She shook her head as Shampoo threw a bonbori mace at him, a smaller one than usual, knocking the half-blind boy for a loop.

_Poor Mousse,_Cologne thought. She didn't hate the moderately dim-witted boy, and neither did Shampoo, to be perfectly honest. It's just that his own affection for Shampoo and unwillingness to hurt her prevented him from being able to win her hand the proper Amazon way, by defeating her in combat. And, although Shampoo could be exactly the same way at times, his overactive affection and constant glomping did get annoying at times. Now, since Ranma had defeated Shampoo, he was fighting a hopeless battle, since Amazon law said that Shampoo was Ranma's fiancée.

Still, they had made no progress in over a year of work, and had actually driven Ranma further away from them at times. Exceptions could be made in extreme circumstances, so maybe she should talk to Shampoo about being nicer to Mousse…

The same chill from earlier struck Cologne, the old Amazon matriarch nearly collapsing from the intensity of it…

"Goddess above…" she gasped, "Such power…"

"Granny? What wrong?" Shampoo said, coming over to her great-grandmother's side, Mousse coming over a few moments later when he regained his senses.

"Such evil… such pure evil…" Cologne said, shivering.

"What evil?" Shampoo said, "What you sensing, Granny?"

"Shampoo, I can't sense anything," Mousse said, giving her a concerned look.

"Shampoo no can either," admitted the purple-haired Amazon, gently hugging her shivering matriarch to try and get her to calm down.

"Such intense evil… Goddess save us, I've never felt anything like this before…"

_Furinkan High… _+++

Tatewaki Kuno laughed. "You, the feared Nerima Mercenary, actually LOST money in a bet? Oh this is rich! I must mark the occasion!"

Nabiki Tendo scowled. "I underestimated those Americans, Kuno-baby. It won't happen again."

Just as the two seniors stepped down the hall, a girl's scream drew their attention. They ran to the source, and saw Miyo, the school's resident psychic, screaming in agony and clutching her head in pain, her friends trying to comfort her.

"Odd… I wonder what ails yon maiden mindreader…" Kuno said, frowning.

"Probably the same thing that's ailing me…" said a quivering voice. Both Kuno and Nabiki, startled by the voice, whirled around to see the pale face of Hikaru Gosunkugi behind them, clutching his stomach as if ill and bracing himself against the wall.

Nabiki blinked, feeling a rare moment of concern for someone other than herself. "Gosunkugi-baby, what's wrong with you? You're looking paler than usual…"

Kuno frowned at him. "I told you, the occult is not something to mess in. If you have gotten yourself possessed, I want nothing to do with…"

"Can't you feel it?" Gosunkugi asked, his face frantic with fear.

"Feel what?" Nabiki asked, confused.

"The same thing that's hurting Miyo… That cold, terrifying evil… Even the old man when he's mad isn't this frightening…" Gosunkugi said, "Please, can't you feel anything?

Nabiki frowned. "Kuno-baby, you've always been better at the hyper-senses than me… Can you?"

"I fear not, Nabiki Tendo. Whatever it is, my own finely tuned senses are immune to it. Nay, if I cannot sense it, then neither can any of the other martial artists as well…" Kuno said, "Still, I think that yon whelp Gosunkugi is not lying, Nabiki Tendo."

Gosunkugi gave Kuno a grateful look, as Nabiki just looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The senses of a martial artist are blind to this… But perhaps the senses of one who deals in magic can sense it…"

_Command Center…_+++

"Alpha…" intoned the ethereal head of Zordon, the alien mentor of Jason and the others, "Rita is on Earth, I sense it…"

The robot servitor ran from console to console, trying to get a lock on the signal. "I'm trying to find her, Zordon, I really am! But she's blocking every signal we send out."

Zordon frowned. "Hurry, Alpha 5… Whatever Rita is doing, it cannot be good. We must know what it is!"

_Hinako's apartment… _+++  
_Later… _+++

Hinako gasped, waking up on the floor of her apartment. She looked around frantically, and saw that everything was back to normal, although she was still in her adult form. She staggered to her feet, wiping her eyes as she tried to regain her senses. She went into the bathroom, still dizzy. She looked into the mirror, and jumped back, startled.

Her eyes had become blood red.

She blinked in confusion… and then remembered.

A slow smile spread over her face as she began to laugh…

**+++ TO BE CONTINUED +++**


	4. The Challenge Is Made

_Furinkan High School… _+++

_After classes are over… _+++

"Ugh," said Jason, "No matter where you are, school is still aggravating…"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Billy said, smirking as he dropped his voice to a quieter tone and added, "Just think about how hard it would have been without the universal translators added to your watches."

"I'd rather not, thanks," Jason muttered.

Zack laughed. "Look at it this way, man. We've had a VERY interesting time since we got here."

Jason rolled his eyes as Billy chuckled. Tommy nodded. "And at least Rita…"

"Finish that sentence and you're dead," Kimberly said, keeping an eye out for Happosai, "We don't need this day jinxed more than it is."

At that moment, Kuno came flying over their heads, screaming "DAAATE WITH MEEEEEEE…" before vanishing over the horizon. Everyone blinked in confusion, and turned around, seeing a furious beyond belief Trini standing there with an amused looking Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo.

"Good distance," Ranma said, "I usually end up going for height rather than distance, so I never really knock him that far."

Billy frowned at her. "Was that necessary? You haven't done that since Bulk grabbed your butt back in junior high."

Trini grumbled, rubbing her fist. "Lunatic jumped me… Started hugging me and asking me to go out with him…"

Akane sighed. "Ranma and I have to deal with that on a near daily basis," she said.

Kimberly blinked. "You're kidding me! Can't just, y'know, call the cops on him?"

Ranma grumbled. "The ones who aren't scared of him are in his pocket. He may not look it because of how easy it is for us to kick his ass, but he's actually one of the most powerful fighters in Nerima."

"Wonderful," Kimberly muttered, "Any other perverts in town that we should know about?"

"You've already met the only two guys you have to worry about," Ranma said, "The rest are just crazy females who think I'm their fiancée."

Ukyo smacked him with her giant spatula. "You could at LEAST wait until I'm out of earshot."

Akane shook her head. "Honestly, Ranma. You'd think you'd know better by now," she said.

Jason snickered. "I'm guessing this happens to you a lot as well…"

Ranma rubbed the spot where Ukyo smacked him and grumbled. "You have no idea, brother."

Ukyo snickered and sheathed her battle spatula. "At any rate," she said, "I promised you guys okonomiyaki. And since you're new to the area, only half price this first time."

"Sounds good to me," Tommy said, "I'm starving, and we don't have to be back to the old lady's place for hours yet."

Ukyo grinned. "Follow me, then."

Ukyo and the six Americans wandered through the streets of Nerima to the business district. They eventually came to a small, but well-packed little shop marked 'Ucchan's.'

"Welcome to my humble abode and business! Ucchan's, where you get the best okonomiyaki in Japan!" Ukyo said, gesturing with a flourish.

Almost immediately afterwards, a mailbox flew out of the door, followed by an irritated cry of, "For the last time, get OUT of here Tsubasa! Ukyo doesn't want you here!"

"How dare you! How dare you speak to Ukyo's one true love you… you CROSSDRESSER!!!" said the battered-looking mailbox, standing up and yelling at the doorway.

Ukyo just groaned softly. A figure came out of the restaurant, a slender being clad in a ninja's uniform, with long black hair bound up in a ponytail.

The six Americans stared at the figure who just came out of the restaurant. "…Are you a boy or a girl?" Billy asked after a moment.

"You are one to talk, Tsubasa!" the ninja said, "Now get out of here! You're disrupting business!"

The lid of the mailbox popped open, revealing a feminine figure in an adorable pink dress. Tears were in her eyes as she glared at the ninja.

Tsubasa snarled. "I hate you! Ever since you came into my Ukyo's life you've been stealing her from me! Well I won't let you! Do you hear me?! I WON'T…"

Tsubasa didn't get a chance to finish his threat, as Ukyo, in frustration, had swatted him into the distance with her battle spatula.

"Idiot…" she muttered.

"Um…" Jason said after a moment.

"That thing was Tsubasa Kurenai. He's one of my more… 'persistent' suitors. The others gave up after I settled on Ranma," Ukyo said.

"…That was MALE?" Zack said after a moment, the six Americans staring at her incredulously.

Ukyo grinned despite herself. "And so is Konatsu, believe it or not. He is my friend, my confidant, and my personal servant. Konatsu, this is Jason, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, Zack, and Tommy. They're exchange students from the United States, and I've decided to treat them to my delicious cuisine. At half-price, of course, since they've just moved in."

Konatsu bowed to them, smiling meekly. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

The six Americans just stared at her. Ukyo laughed. "Trust me. It only gets stranger from here. But maybe I can give you some normalcy before you head back for the day. A snack before you go visit the Tendo Dojo and get spoiled by Kasumi's cooking."

"I'm sure whatever you cook will be just as good," Billy said, ever the diplomat.

"Aww, you're just saying that," Ukyo said, appreciating the thought nevertheless.

They went into the restaurant, which had a small handful of customers in it. The six Americans took a seat at the counter, Konatsu scooping some okonomiyaki off of the griddle and serving it to the other patrons in the restaurant.

"How's business been, Konatsu?" Ukyo asked as she went back into the kitchen to change clothes.

"Most excellent, Mistress Ukyo. There were at least thirty take-out orders that I can remember, and the fight with Tsubasa actually drew customers in. I let him do better than he usually did when I noticed it, so we could get maximum entertainment value out of it," Konatsu said, moving astonishingly quick. Jason and Tommy traded amused looks, wondering how the very effeminate boy would do in a fight.

"Excellent!" Ukyo said, "Well done, Ko-chan, you've come a long way!" She came out, now clad in her usual work outfit, a wrap-around vest like shirt and leggings. Her hair was bound back, and she still wore her battle spatula and bandoleer of throwing spatulas. Konatsu was practically beaming at the attention, but like a good servant, kept working.

"So! What'll it be?" Ukyo said, "I've got all the ingredients you could want. Welcome to Okonomiyaki Ucchan's!"

_Elsewhere…_+++

Tsubasa landed with a thud in the park, denting the pavement with his head. He groaned softly and collapsed, falling backwards.

Tsubasa groaned again, wondering why Ukyo had struck him. Why couldn't she see? Why couldn't she see that his love for her was pure and good? Oh sure, he had tried fixating on other women. But in the end, all he wanted was Ukyo.

He sighed sadly, picking himself up. He wished he was more technically minded, that way he could install wheels in his more elaborate disguises and get around quicker. A quick survey of his surroundings told him that he wasn't anywhere near his home.

He sighed, deciding to just make the long journey back on foot.

"Hello there," said a soft, sensual voice.

Tsubasa looked around, startled by the sound. He eventually spotted a tall, busty figure in a tight-fitting yellow dress standing nearby, accidentally hitting her in the boob with a corner of the mailbox costume.

"Oh! Um… I'm sorry ma'am…" he said.

"Quite all right, dear Tsubasa," said the woman, a wicked smile on her face, "My name is Hinako Ninomiya. I am a teacher at the school where your Ukyo goes."

"That's nice," Tsubasa said. He was about to leave, when he noticed something, "…Wait, how did you know my name?"

Hinako grinned. "I have my ways, dear Tsubasa. And I can help you with your problems, too."

THAT got Tsubasa's attention. "Y-You can help me? You can help me win Ukyo's heart?"

Hinako nodded. "Yes, yes. Anything you want. But you must first help me."

Tsubasa nodded vigorously. "Whatever you want, whatever it takes!"

Hinako smirked. _Mistress Rita was right, _she thought, _it is all too easy sometimes._ Aloud, she said, "You will do whatever I ask?"

Tsubasa nodded. "To win Ukyo's love, I'll do anything!"

"Good," Hinako said, grinning viciously, "Then find the Americans and tear them apart! Destroy them in Mistress Rita's name!"

Before Tsubasa could react, Hinako's hand morphed into a mutated, taloned monstrosity. Hinako jammed her talons into his chest. Tsubasa gagged, clutching at Hinako's arm as she cackled. He turned to the side, to call for help from some of the onlookers, only to find that they had all changed, becoming claylike humanoids that danced around the two.

"Now you serve the forces of evil, Tsubasa…" Hinako said, grinning demonically. A long tentacle grew from her back, curling in front of her face into a ring. "HAPPO DARKNESS SATSU!"

Tsubasa screamed.

_Later…_+++

The six Americans enjoyed their snacks in relative peace. They were a little startled at Konatsu's history, and Ukyo's insistence that the two of them were the more normal of Nerima's martial artists didn't make them feel any better either.

But they had resolved to at least try and have a good time at the Tendos. No matter how weird it got…

They walked up to the front gate, Jason stepping forward to knock on the doorway. At which point he immediately had to jump back, as a panda promptly crashed down where he was just moments ago.

Ranma leaped up to the roof off the gate and laughed at the panda. "What's the matter, Pops? Getting slow in your old age?"

To everyone's surprise, the panda stood up, producing a sign out of seemingly nowhere, one that read, "Cursed boy! How dare you distract me with such a petty trick!?"

"Please. You always fall for it, Pops. You're almost as much of a money-grubbing fiend as Nabiki! Except she's actually INTELLIGENT about it!" Ranma said, laughing.

Genma pulled out another sign. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE SUCH A COMPARISON!?" He growled menacingly, and pulled out another sign. "You will apologize at once or I will…"

The rest of the sign broke when Ranma threw a rock at it. Genma grumbled as Ranma laughed again.

"Um… Hi?" Jason said. Ranma and Genma blinked, not having realized the Americans were there yet.

"Oh!" Ranma said, blinking. He leaped down from the top of the gate and smiled. "Sorry about that, pops and I were just practicing."

The Americans just stared at the two of them incredulously, not quite sure what to say.

Genma pulled out another sign and slapped Ranma with it. "Why don't you introduce me to your new friends, Ranma?"

Ranma grumbled something incoherent at Genma and sighed. "Sorry. Anyway. Guys, this is my pop, Genma Saotome. Reason he's a panda now is that I knocked him into the koi pond."

The Americans all stared at Ranma.

Ranma snickered despite himself. "Remember? I told you about the Jusenkyo curses earlier?"

"OH!" Tommy said, "Right, yeah…" The others made similar embarrassed remarks.

Ranma chuckled. "Anyway. Dad, these are the new exchange students from the United States. Jason, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, Zack, and Tommy. Akane and I invited them over for dinner, remember?"

Genma pulled out a sign, nodding. "Ah yes, I remember. That would also explain why Kasumi is preparing so much extra."

Zack shook his head, and leaned in to whisper a question to Ranma. "Where in the world he is keeping those signs?"

Ranma shook his head. "I gave up trying to figure it out months ago…"

Genma smiled and held open the door for the six of them, producing a few new signs. "Welcome to the Tendo Dojo. Ranma's told me some good things about you all. We hope you enjoy your stay in Japan."

The others traded looks that were a mixture of amused and confused, heading in the front gate.

They were greeted by a pleasant, smiling woman in a housedress and apron. She smiled a warm, friendly, inviting smile that spoke of nothing but good cheer and kindness. "Hello there," she said, "I'm Kasumi Tendo. You must be Akane and Ranma's new American friends."

Jason nodded. "Yep, that's us."

Kasumi gestured inside. "Well, feel free to make yourself at home. Please remember to leave your shoes at the door. Dinner will be ready soon."

Akane and another young girl, slightly older and with short brown hair, waited in the lounge after the Americans had come in and removed their shoes.

"Hi everyone, I was just telling my sister Nabiki about you all," Akane said, grinning.

Jason and Zack greeted her cordially. Ranma blinked, and sighed, saying, "Word of warning: Be careful around her, as she has a way of making your wallet lighter before you even realize what's happening."

Billy just smiled. "She can't be that bad."

Nabiki just grinned wickedly at him. The elder man sitting at the table with them frowned, idly scratching his mustache as he looked at his middle daughter. "At any rate," he said, "Welcome to our humble abode. I am Soun Tendo, the head of this household."

Jason, Zack, Trini, and Tommy all came up to him and bowed. "It's good to meet you, sir," Trini said.

"With your permission," Jason said, "we'd like to make use of the dojo to train after dinner."

Soun smiled and nodded. "Yes, I heard that you lot had martial arts ability. I'd be very interested to see it in action. Please, sit down."

"Thank you, Tendo-sensei," Jason said, Soun beaming at the respectful term as Jason and the other Amercians sat down at the table. It was rather crowded, especially after Ranma and Genma joined them, Genma having gotten out a hot water bottle that had been stored near the house and turning back into a human.

"So," Genma said, "How long are you all here for?"

"We'll be staying here about one year, possibly longer depending on circumstances. We're actually being given apartments just a few houses down from this place by one of Trini's Japanese relatives," Billy said.

Soun nodded. "And you all study martial arts, you said?"

Jason smiled and nodded. "Yes sir. I study Shotokan Karate and Shoot-fighting, Zack has his own style that's based on Capoeira and various US styles of dancing, Trini's got most of the Shaolin styles mastered, Kimberly works her gymnastic abilities into her art, Billy is studying Tae Kwan Do, and Tommy's mastered Ninjutsu and Muay Thai."

Soun nodded. "Interesting," he said, "Here we teach our own original styles, although students have been somewhat sparse lately. It's called Anything Goes Martial Arts. Genma and I both have our own variations on the art."

Tommy gave him a curious look. "Anything Goes, huh? I've never heard it, but it sounds interesting."

Soun chuckled weakly. "Yes, well, it isn't widely practiced… Mainly because the man who invented it and taught it to us isn't exactly the most popular sort of person… I believe you met him earlier today?"

There was some mild confusion before Zack got the hint. "The old FREAK?!"

Genma sighed. "To our eternal shame," he said, "Yes, Happosai is our master. He may be one of the greatest martial artists alive, but he's also an evil, untrustworthy, scheming, evil, perverse, smelly…"

"HEY! I happened to take a bath today, so I object to the smelly part!" barked Happosai, who suddenly appeared on Genma's head.

The six Americans stared in numb shock as both Genma and Soun yelped, literally leaping out of their seats and getting on their hands and knees in positions of supplication.

"Master! Forgive us! We're not worthy! We'll NEVER be worthy!!" the two of them said in perfect unison. Akane, Nabiki, and Ranma had almost identical looks of disgust on their faces at the actions of their fathers.

"Get up you idiots," Ranma muttered.

Kimberly twitched angrily. "What is he doing here?"

Akane sighed. "He lives here, unfortunately. We haven't been able to get rid of him…"

"And you never will," Happosai said, snickering. He froze, however, when he noticed Kimberly glaring at him. He stared at her for a moment, Kimberly's fury growing as her battle aura flared, pink lightning flowing around her body.

Ranma, Akane, Nabiki, and the fathers all stared at Kimberly in confusion, noticing the unusual color of her battle aura. They became even more baffled when the battle auras of the other five Americans began to flare up, each one a different color than the norm. Then they noticed that Happosai seemed almost afraid of the six of them.

"Well…" Happosai said, stammering, "I… I see you're visiting, yes… Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here… Kasumi is a wonderful cook… I think… Yes, I think I'll take my dinner in my room tonight… I wanted to resort my collection anyway, and you know how long that usually takes… Ehehe…"

Kimberly let out a hissing breath. "I haven't forgotten this morning, you grabby little pervert…" she said, her eyes starting to glow as the pink lightning began to grow more intense around her body, "I haven't forgiven yet either…"

Happosai gulped nervously, preparing to bolt, the battle auras of both Kimberly and Tommy starting to grow much more intense.

Then, showing her perfect timing as usual, Kasumi came in suddenly, offering tea and fresh takoyaki puffs as an appetizer. The six battle auras vanished in a pop, the Americans confused for a moment before accepting Kasumi's gift. Kasumi smiled warmly and went back into the kitchen, Happosai using the moment of confusion to bolt for his room.

_What in blazes is that aura?_ Happosai thought, locking himself in his room, _And why is it so familiar?_

The perverted martial arts master sighed, leaving a note for Kasumi on the door and locking it behind him, burying himself in a pile of women's panties for comfort…

"These are very good," Billy said, munching on his takoyaki.

Akane smiled. "Kasumi always buys them fresh," she said, trading looks with Ranma, both of them silently agreeing to ask them about their unusual battle auras later.

Dinner came without further incident, although there was a brief skirmish between Ranma and Genma over a pork cutlet that got both of them knocked into the koi pond again, switching over to their cursed forms.

"Meh…" Ranma said, "I think I'll just stay a girl the rest of the night… Getting sick of switching every time I get wet…"

Genma made a grumbling noise. Nabiki giggled, and Soun shook his head, sighing. He looked at Billy for a moment, a thought passing through his head.

"Your last name is Cranston, right?" Soun asked.

Billy nodded, a confused look on his face. "Yes sir, it is."

"Hm… I remember meeting a Cranston one time while on a training journey in America… Hm…" Soun said, a thoughtful expression on his face .

As if on cue, the phone rang. Kasumi got up to answer it. A slightly worried look came to her face as she listened to the caller, and gave it to Soun.

"Father, it's for you. A Mister Daniel Cranston…" Kasumi said.

Everyone traded worried looks, Billy's eyebrows raising over his glasses in surprise. Soun accepted the phone, thanking Kasumi and greeting the caller.

"Ah, Daniel… Yes, I remember now…" Soun said, smiling, "Oh, come now. It was years ago. You and your wife were in danger, and I was in position for the rescue, so… Well, yes, yes… Still, no thanks are needed… Hm… Funny you should mention that. Billy's actually right here in the dojo with his friends. They met my youngest daughter and her fiancée today and became fast friends with them… Oh? Hm… Well, I suppose… Why, that's a wonderful idea! But I thought it was frowned on in the States…"

Ranma twitched, an ill look coming to her face as she suddenly realized where this was going.

"EXCELLENT. You handle everything on that end, and I'll tell them about it at once. Would you like to talk to your son… You can't? Oh, I see. Yes, business is important. You'll call him tonight, then? I'm sure he'll be looking forward to it."

As Soun hung up the phone, everyone else in the room looked at him worried. Soun cleared his throat, smiled, and said, "Well, as you know, that was your father, Billy. When we first met, he and his wife were about to be run over by a car, and I managed to push them out of the way in time."

Billy nodded. "Dad told me about that…"

"Well, as gratitude, he's agreed to help me make sure my own family is taken care of," Soun said, grinning.

Ranma groaned. "Please tell me you didn't…"

Soun motioned for Billy to stand up, and then brought him over to Nabiki, whose eyes were widening in growing horror.

"Nabiki, I'd like you to meet your new fiancée, Billy Cranston. The arrangements are being made as we speak to finalize it…"

"WHAT?!?!" Nabiki and Billy said, almost shrieking the words.

Akane just stared at her father incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me! AGAIN!?"

Genma looked Billy and Nabiki over. "Hm… A fine match, I'd say," he said after a moment, nodding.

Jason was incredulous. "Now wait a minute!"

Nabiki growled angrily. "Daddy DEAR, you do know what I'm capable of, don't you?"

Soun met her gaze and, to the surprise of the Tendo sisters and Ranma, didn't flinch. "The matter is settled, Nabiki. If Ranma and Akane can't make me change my mind, what makes you think you can?"

Nabiki grinned devilishly, those around her backing up in alarm as a demonic battle aura flared up around her. "Ranma and Akane don't have my methods. They don't have my CONTACTS. Can you imagine what would happen if I let slip to certain people information about a certain person we have staying here?"

Soun gulped hard, and looked about to cave, when Kasumi put her hand on Nabiki's shoulder, startling her. "Nabiki, if you do tell the authorities about Happosai, won't you be in just as much trouble? You do have something of a reputation, you know, and the authorities around here do tend to be a bit more intelligent than the people you usually take on dates… They might wonder why you were holding this information back for so long, and wonder what else you knew, and, well…" Kasumi said, smiling sadly.

Nabiki flinched, a dismayed look coming to her face. _Blast, she's right… And Happosai was the only thing I actually have on Dad right now… Oh man…_

"This isn't over," Nabiki said, scowling and storming off to her room.

"Yes, Nabiki, it is," Soun called out, feeling a bit more confident now.

Ranma sighed wearily. Akane just glared at her father, who went back to sipping tea. Kasumi began to clean up the dishes, Billy just staring dumbfounded at the wall as the other five Americans just stared incredulously at the others.

After a moment, Akane sighed. "Sorry about that," she said, "I honestly didn't expect this to happen."

Jason shook his head. "That's messed up. I mean, just engaging them like that?"

Billy was incredulous. "I just met her TODAY. Granted, she's pretty and all, but…"

"So you do like her! Excellent! All that remains is to set the…" Soun said, stopping when Ranma threw a teapot at him, knocking him out.

Trini blinked in surprise, and chuckled softly. "I'm guessing this household isn't exactly big on the traditions we learned about while preparing for this trip."

Ranma grinned weakly. "Pretty much. Wanna head to the dojo and practice?"

Seeing nothing else they could do here, they agreed. Kasumi started to clean up the dishes, Trini and Tommy offering to help out. Once that was done, the two of them went off to the dojo, where the others were already warming up for practice. Akane had changed into a karate gi, while Ranma retained her usual outfit. Everyone else had opted to stay in their regular attire as well.

After everyone had finished warming up, Ranma said, "Okay… Who wants to go first?"

"Actually, Zack," Akane said, "Would you mind if you and I sparred first? I've only seen Capoeira once and I was wondering what your take on it was like…"

Zack rubbed his chin for a moment and nodded. "Sure thing, pretty lady," Zack said, flashing that charming grin of his, "The Zack-man'll give you a taste of what his Hip-Hop Kido is like."

Akane blushed and the compliment and stepped forward onto the mats, taking a basic aikido stance. Zack did a couple front flips, putting himself in front of her and dropping into a weaving, dance-like stance.

The two circled each other for a moment, Akane trying to follow Zack's erratic movements with her eyes. She came in with a strong kick, but Zack bent backwards, dropping into a sweeping kick that took Akane off of her feet. Before she could flip to recover, Zack spun again, bringing his knee in to strike her in the face and send her rolling back.

Ranma blinked, surprised that Zack actually struck Akane, and started forward reflexively. But Jason put an arm in front of her, holding her back.

"No," he said, "If you have any respect for her as a martial artist, you'll let this match continue."

"Yeah but…" Ranma said, wincing as Zack landed another series of punishing blows to Akane, the smaller girl unable to keep up with his erratic, non-stop movements, "…It just ain't right for a guy to hit a girl."

Kimberly snickered despite herself. "Oh gawd. That stupid old chivalry rule," she said, giggling.

Tommy sighed. "Ranma will learn…"

Ranma was confused. _Learn what? _she thought, turning her attention to the sparring match once more.

To her credit, Akane was able to defend against some of Zack's attacks, but the dark-skinned teen's fast, non-stop movements and constantly changing rhythm threw her off, Zack raining down kicks and punches onto her from several angles. The difference in the skill of the two, as well as how outmatched Akane was, was obvious even to Billy.

Finally, after being knocked down for the fifteenth time in a row, Akane surrendered.

Zack flipped to his feet and grinned, offering a hand up. "You okay?" he asked, "I didn't wanna mess up that pretty face, so I tried not to tag you too many times there…"

Akane blushed. "I'm fine. And thank you for actually sparring with me. Ranma has this dumb 'don't hit girls' rule so he never agrees to spar with me. Every time I try to force it he just dodges me until I get tired…"

Zack frowned, but let that go for the moment. "Try harder. You got a lot of power, I could feel that in some of your punches I blocked, but you got no real focus behind it. Your Dad runs this dojo, right? Maybe he could train you?"

Akane's smile faltered a little. "Ah… Dad's willingness to train has fallen off a lot since our mother died."

Zack flinched. "Sorry…"

Akane sighed. "No worries, you didn't know. There's a shrine in the main hall he prays to every evening."

"The one with the picture of the pretty lady on it?" Zack said, "Yeah, I noticed that on the way in. You certainly get your looks from her."

"Don't insult the lady like that," Ranma said, almost reflexively.

Akane snarled and pounded Ranma into the mat, storming out of the room.

Zack began laughing despite himself. Jason stared at Ranma incredulously. "…Seriously, man, does your mouth have an off switch?"

"If it did, Pops broke it long ago," Ranma moaned, picking herself up out of the floor.

"I'm guessing you and your father don't have the best relationship," Trini said, frowning.

"I've led an interesting life. And by 'interesting life,' I mean in the sense of the old Chinese curse of 'may you have an interesting life.' I'll give you the full details some other time, though… As for what just happened, I just tend to blame Pop for a lot of the problems I have and call it a day," she said.

"If you say so… You still up for a sparring match?" Jason asked.

"You know it," Ranma said, popping her dislocated shoulder back into place and stepping onto the mat. Jason took a calming breath, and slowly stepped onto the mat, doing a brief tai chi kata to warm up, Ranma doing a few stretches, each one keeping an eye on each other's movements out of the corner of their eyes. She glanced at the others as well, taking in how they held themselves as they watched the two of them, measuring them as best she could.

After a moment, both Jason and Ranma were ready. They slowly moved around the mat for several long moments, each one watching each other's movements with laser-like precision. Finally, Ranma made the first move, dashing forward. Jason feinted a low kick that caused Ranma to jump, launching a palm strike at her chest with a loud "Kiai!"

Ranma winced, the blow thudding hard against her chest and knocking her back. Ranma flipped back, ready to strike again, but Jason was coming in fast, his leg thrusting out for a cyclonic roundhouse kick. Ranma blocked it, wincing from the impact, and gripped Jason's legs, throwing him over her shoulder. Jason threw out his hands to block part of the impact, and then kicked Ranma in the face to make the pigtailed martial artist let him go. Jason rolled to his feet, Ranma rolling away as well.

Both young martial artists smirked. "Not bad," Jason said.

Ranma grinned. "I'm just getting started," she said, "I wanna see what you can do with that weird battle aura you were throwing out earlier."

Jason blinked, realizing that Ranma had sensed the presence of his power. Ranma just smirked, dashing in again. Jason dashed in as well, but instead of doing any normal attacks, Ranma let out a battle cry and launched into the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. Punches rained down on Jason at lightning speed, Jason crossing his arms in front of his face to block them as best he could.

The short-haired young man winced under the pounding blows, surprised at the attack. _Jeez, how strong is Ranma? He hits as hard as a Putty Patroller…_

The others watched worriedly, cheering Jason on. They barely noticed that Akane had come back, along with Genma, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Soun, all watching the fight with interest. Even Happosai was there, making sure to stay out of everyone's line of sight. Jason, realizing he was being driven back by the pummeling attack, braced himself, pushing a leg back against the mat and staying rooted to the spot. He watched between his blocking arms, and when he felt a blow coming directly for his face, grabbed one of Ranma's arms, startling the pig-tailed girl for an instant, enough for Jason to launch a punishing blow to her face.

Ranma's head snapped back from the impact, the pig-tailed youngster grunting as blood leaking from her nose. She grinned, and kept up the attack, Jason meeting her attack for attack, each one countering each others kicks and punches. After several attempts Amagurikens, Jason had learned to watch for the move and now never let Ranma get in more than a couple punches before countering.

To the surprise of the gathered Americans, a red, crackling battle aura was forming around Jason as he fought, his blows coming with much more force than before.

"Amazing," Genma said, "They're evenly matched."

It was true. Both young men were clearly enjoying the fight, Ranma's more aerial style matched perfectly by Jason's ground-based techniques. No matter how hard they fought, neither could gain an advantage over the other. Eventually, they stepped back to catch their breath and regroup.

Jason sat near one end of the dojo, grinning, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, sweat darkening his t-shirt. "Heh. Not bad. Usually only Tommy, Trini, or Zack can give me that much of a workout."

Ranma grinned. "You're not too bad yourself. It's rare that I get a clean fight like this," she admitted.

Jason looked over at the weapons on the wall, an idea coming to him. "…Mind if I add a little spice to this?" he said, picking up a bokken and taking a two-handed stance with it.

Ranma nodded. "Sure. Never hurts to practice against an armed style, see if I can keep ahead of our local swordsman," she said, thinking of Kuno's sword art and placing a rough estimate of Jason's abilities by comparison. Obviously he was more skilled at it than Kuno, but Jason's stance was unlike any kendo stance he had ever seen.

The other Americans looked at Jason in surprise. He gave them a reassuring nod, and then turned his full attention to Ranma. Ranma nodded, and took a stance. Soun moved to take a referee position.

"Hnh… Mind if I officiate this?" he asked.

"If you want, Tendo-sensei," Jason said, nodding.

"Whatever floats your boat, Mr. Tendo," Ranma snorted, keeping her eyes on Jason's bokken.

Soun nodded, and called for the match to begin.

To say that Ranma was unprepared for what happened next would be an understatement. Jason struck with skill and force that Ranma had only seen when Kuno was reacting to the presence of watermelons. The red-clad young martial artist's bokken whirled about, slashing and striking at Ranma, keeping her totally on the defensive.

_Holy…! Geez, Kuno's a joke compared to this guy!_ Ranma thought, barely managing to dodge a series of powerful thrusts, flipping off the wall to get behind Jason, aiming a kick at his head that was blocked with the hilt of the bokken, the wooden blade lashing around to strike Ranma in the side.

Ranma was actually pleased. The only real sparring she got was from Ryoga, who was an unreliable partner due to his chronic inability to know where the Hell he was going, and from Mousse, who usually opted for 'kill' rather than 'spar.' In Jason, however, she had found a skilled sparring partner, one that would be available on a regular basis, a true test of skill.

And this was without seeing what the other five fought like.

Oh, she was quite pleased with the situation.

Jason, for his part, was enjoying himself. Ranma was managing to keep a step ahead of his sword, but was unable to capitalize due to the sheer ferocity and speed of Jason's strikes. It felt good to be able to use his sword skills in a situation that wasn't a fight for his life…

After a few minutes of fighting, Soun, unable to see a definitive winner emerging, called an end to the match, ruling it a draw. Ranma and Jason both dropped their stances, and shook hands, panting as they caught their breath, their muscles aching from the exertion.

Ranma grinned widely. "Not bad," she said, rotating her sore shoulders, "It's gonna be fun having you around."

"Likewise," Jason said, putting the bokken back where he found it and bowing. Ranma returned the bow, and the two went back to the kitchen with the others. Nabiki frowned, looking over Jason. _Hnnh…_she thought _As good as Ranma in a fight, but better than Kuno with a sword… Seems a bit smarter than Ranma, though, and he has a strong relationship with the others… It'll be more difficult than normal to exploit them… _

Nabiki scowled again, thinking of her 'fiancée,' and shook her head, heading back into the room, starting to plan.

Happosai frowned. "That weird battle aura… Why do I feel I know it?" He sighed, and scuttled back to his room.

The rest of the day went without incident, and everyone retired to bed. At the place the Americans were staying, Tommy commented dryly. "Rather… interesting place we've found ourselves in, eh?"

Kimberly muttered something incoherent into her pillow. Something vague about her plans for murdering Happosai.

Zack chuckled. "I don't know, it looks like this place is kinda fun. And if nothing else, it might be fun to watch Ranma's verbal diarrhea get him in trouble over and over again."

"That's cruel," Trini said. Although she grinned as she said it, showing that she wasn't entirely averse to the idea.

"I still can't believe it…" Billy muttered, "I can't believe they'd just engage me like that."

Jason sighed. "We'll figure something out, Billy… See if we can talk him out of it…"

"I rather doubt that," Ranma said. The others all immediately sat up, each one going into a fighter's crouch but then relaxing once they saw Ranma in the window, a guy again.

Ranma grinned, impressed with their reaction time.

Jason frowned. "What do you mean you doubt it?" he asked.

Ranma sighed. "Mr. Tendo has the market cornered on stubborn. Akane and I have tried to get out of our engagement several times, but he and Pops have a knack for guilt-trips, tricks, and just refusing to acknowledge your opinion on the matter. Only reason I don't fight it anymore is because Akane's not THAT unpleasant to be around and the others…" Ranma sighed. "Ukyo's okay, but I thought she was a guy for years and I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that she's a sexy girl. Plus, I don't really like some of her ideas for the life she wants to have with me. The other two…" Ranma shook his head. "I'm still worn out from our spar earlier, I'll tell you about them later.

Kimberly blinked. "Wait. Other two? How many people are you engaged to?"

Ranma frowned. "Last count? About 19, including one who only thinks she's engaged to me."

The six Americans stared at Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "Genma took me away from my Mom when I was young, promising to make me a 'man among men' under pain of both of us committing seppuku should we fail. He's used me as a bargaining chip to get food a lot of times. "

"That's… disgusting," Tommy understated.

Ranma sighed. "We managed to meet my Mom again in spite of Pops avoiding her like the plague and making me too afraid to meet her as myself at first. We also managed to get out of that dumb contract, although it was a very close thing, thanks to this stupid curse. In one of her rare moments of pity, Nabiki has agreed to help break the extra engagements, although she's letting the one with her sister, which was made before either Akane or I was born, Ukyo's, and the other two stand."

"Why just the other two?" Trini asked, "Who are they?"

Ranma rubbed his temples. "One is this Chinese amazon girl named Shampoo."

"Wait," Jason said, "Shampoo? Like the hair care product?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. I know it's probably Xian Pu or something like that, but I swear the names of everyone in her village, male or female, sound like beauty products. Anyway, Shampoo is from a secluded village of Chinese amazons, where men are second class citizens. I met her shortly after I was cursed and didn't yet know how to turn back. Dad and I wandered into the village where there was some kinda tournament going on. We saw a feast there and pretty much decided to help ourselves. What we didn't know is that it was the prize for the winner. Shampoo had won easily and got pissed at me. I don't speak a word of Chinese, but I got the idea she wanted to fight me, so I did. And beat her easily. One little problem though: The village had a rule about their warriors losing to outsiders."

Jason frowned. "And that rule would be…"

Ranma chuckled weakly, shaking his head. "If a warrior of the village loses to a female outsider, they have to track that outsider down and are forbidden to return until they've killed her. If a warrior of the village loses to a male outsider, she has to track down that outsider and are forbidden to return until they've married the guy and brought him back to the village to help strengthen the line."

"What a primitive custom…" Billy said.

"Okay, so I'm getting she's tracked you down to kill you, but I don't understand where the engagement came in," Trini said.

Ranma scowled. "While fighting me, Akane stood up for me and got attacked by Shampoo in response. I was a guy at the time, so I defended her, breaking one of her weapons so that it landed on her head and knocked her out. That counted as a defeat in her culture, unfortunately, so I got another woman going after me. Shampoo… likes to use dirty tricks. It's by dumb luck that she likes me enough that I was able to convince her not to kill anyone she views as a rival, although I think she just says that so to get on my good side. She's tried brainwashing, magic, fighting, threats, tricks… Pretty much anything you can think of. On top of that, a male warrior from her village named Mousse followed her and tries to kill me every chance he gets. He wanted to win her hand, but he couldn't bring himself to strike her, so Shampoo is pretty much offended by his very existence. She's nice to him at times, though she still prefers me. The guy's blind as a bat without his glasses. He doesn't wear them as much as he should, though. I think it's because he's pretty decent looking without them and wants to impress her. Anyway, that's Shampoo inna nutshell. On the plus side, she's easy on the eyes, though, good in a fight, and a heckuva cook. I can usually scam free meals out of her."

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Real gentleman, aren't you?"

Ranma pffed, chuckling. "Anyway… The other one is Kodachi Kuno."

Trini gagged. "Another one?"

Ranma nodded. "Tatetwaki's sister, the principal's daughter. She goes to a private all-girl academy. She believes in 'pre-emptive' winning, so Kimberly, if Furinkan ever goes up against the school, be on the lookout for attacks in the night. She's pretty, no doubt, and good with her rigged weapons, but she's just as batshit insane as her brother and father. She's got a laugh that makes demons tremble in their shoes. She keeps a pet alligator named Mister Green Turtle, and puts stun powders or poisons in everything she cooks. It's a shame, because she's a good cook otherwise. Unlike Akane, who tries to do good but makes everything poisonous because she doesn't know how to keep to the damn recipe."

Ranma was promptly knocked out of the window by a thrown frying pan hitting him in the skull. Jason, Tommy, and Zack laughed.

"Akane also has very good hearing," Ranma groaned.

Billy nodded. "Okay then… Kodachi is engaged to you as well?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nah. She thinks she is, though. After an attack on Akane, she slipped on the wet tiles of our roof. I wasn't even after her at the time, I was chasing off this bozo I know named Ryoga. She had hit her head and was knocked out, so she would have hit hard on landing. I got her to safety, and when she woke up and realized I had saved her, it was love at first sight. She's a little more blatant about her murder attempts to Ukyo, Shampoo, and Akane than Shampoo is… Oh, and like her brother, she refuses to acknowledge that male me and female me are the same person. They both think the Ranma they don't want is an evil wizard or a scheming whore, depending on the gender. It's good for a scam at times, mainly because Tatewaki is easier to get along with despite how grabby he is, but REALLY inconvenient in others."

"…" Jason said, "…Makes you wonder what you did in a previous life to get all this on you."

Ranma chuckled weakly. "I think I may have been, like, a torturer under Nobunaga Oda or something… A bad previous life is the only reason I can think of as to why all this keeps happening to me…"

Zack laughed. "Anyway, thanks for the heads up, but we're still gonna try and get Billy out of this. That just ain't right, man."

"Preaching to the choir, Zack," Ranma said, picking up the pan and heading back to the window, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

The Americans all bid Ranma goodnight, Ranma heading back to his home, and continued chatting until they all went to sleep.

_The next day… _+++

Ranma, Akane, and the six Americans decided to walk to school together. Ranma, surprisingly, didn't get splashed today, so he was male the whole trip there. He and Zack were talking.

"…See, I think you're looking at this whole curse the wrong way," Zack said, "Sure, it's inconvenient, especially if you turn into a guy while in a restroom or a bathhouse, but it could be a lot worse. Not only are you still human, still capable of walking and talking like normal, but you're a hottie as well."

Ranma frowned. "It makes me really uncomfortable to hear people calling me that," he said.

Zack grinned playfully, "Ah, but you're not above using your looks as a girl to scam snacks off of people, hm?"

Ranma shook his head. "That's different," he insisted.

Zack smirked. "No, that's hypocritical. You say you don't like being called sexy, but you're quick to flaunt your looks when you need them. I think you just don't like grabby pervs like Happosai or the Blue Blunder and are usin' that to convince yourself that you don't enjoy being a girl."

Ranma frowned, and looked up at the sky. "Maybe… Sometimes I think about doin' girly stuff on a regular basis, just to annoy Dad… Then I remember Mom still has that katana… And it's REALLY weird havin' guys attracted to me… If I gotta be a girl then I'd rather be a lesbian."

Akane gagged, blushing. Trini and Kimberly managed to talk her out of hammering Ranma into the ground.

Zack chuckled. "Try this then: It could be a HELL of a lot worse. You could turn into a fish. Or a bug. Or a panda."

Ranma had a brief flash of himself as a panda. He then saw himself dressed and acting like his Dad, and shuddered. After a moment, he recovered himself and grinned. "I guess you're right… Could be a lot worse."

Akane, Trini, and Kimberly were chatting idly, talking about various popular things in America and Japan. Jason, Zack, Tommy, Ranma, and Billy turned their conversation to martial arts.

When they got to the street Furinkan High was on, they saw a line of armored warriors waiting for them, several other students waiting as well.

"…What the hell?" Jason said.

Ranma growled. "Damn it," he snarled, "the Principal's at it again. He likes to deliberately make students tardy and trick them into punishments."

"That's nuts!" Tommy said incredulously.

"Welcome to our daily life," Akane muttered.

Kuno came up to him. "Saotome," he said, his voice cold as ice, "The felonious fiend that calls himself my father has struck again. Fair Kuonji and I have tried to pass these wretches, but our power alone is not enough. I am willing to make a temporary truce if you and the foreign barbarians shall help us pass these louts."

"Hnh," Ranma said, "You and Ukyo couldn't get by them? Your Dad must be hiring better mercenaries."

"Let's just get through them," Jason said, looking them over. "Tommy, you take point with me and Ranma. Ukyo, find high ground and then throw your spatula projectiles. Aim for the joints. Akane, follow up with your most powerful hits to the areas she strikes to disable them. Kuno, Trini, Kim, protect the non-fighters and move them past once we get take out enough of the mercenaries. Billy, Zack, guard Akane, enforce the center and watch our backs. Everyone fall back to a phalanx position should they surround us."

Ranma blinked, but nodded, understanding it was a good plan. Ukyo leaped up to a nearby tree. Kuno started to protest, but Kimberly and Trini grabbed him by the ears and dragged him back with the rest of the students. Jason, Tommy, and Ranma launched themselves forward. The closest armored thug took Jason's foot in his face, the faceplate falling away. Tommy shot a palm strike at the man that broke his nose and knocked him out. A guard wielding a metal bat charged them, but a spatula strike the elbow joint, Akane lunging in with a powerful hit that drove the spatula in further. The guard screamed, dropping the bat and clutching his bleeding arm. Ranma took the time to uppercut the man, knocking out. A guard got behind them, swinging a chain, but Zack grabbed the chain out of the air, Billy kicking the man under the chin, the guard's head snapping back. One guard tried to attack the non-combat students, but a series of quick precision strikes from Trini knocked him out. A curry bomb from Ukyo disabled another attacking guard long enough for Kuno to destroy him. (The guard had made the very unfortunate choice of wearing watermelon print garb under his robes. Kuno's conditioned reaction kicked in, destroying a light pole and sending the guard flying over the horizon, his clothes and armor reduced to confetti.)

The guards were good, good enough to give two martial artists trouble. But with ten people fighting, they went down quickly enough.

"A good morning workout," Tommy said, dusting his hands off.

Jason shook his head. "That's just ridiculous. No American principal would act like this."

"Your statements give me hope for your country that I thought had died," Nabiki said, chuckling, coming out from the group of non-combat students to walk with her sister.

Ranma grinned, looking up at the clock to see five minutes left before the tardy bell. "All right, we have time to spare!"

The Principal stood there by the gate, looking stunned that his mercenaries were beaten so easily, sputtered something incoherent, locked the gate and threw a pineapple bomb. Jason nodded to Kimberly, kneeling. Kimberly hopped up onto Jason's back and did a graceful spin kick that send the pineapple back at the Principal, blowing open the gate and sending the Hawaiian lunatic flying back into the school.

"All in all, not a bad way to start the day!" Akane said, smiling.

The students filed into the school. Halfway in, the six Americans froze. Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, Nabiki, and Kuno stopped, noticing that the others weren't moving.

Jason scowled. "Oh hell…"

Trini cursed. "Then I'm not the only one that heard it?"

Billy shook his head. "Why now, though? Why here?"

Kimberly sneered. "Knowing Rita she probably wanted to wait until we were tired out somewhat…"

Zack chuckled weakly. "So much for the good day…"

Tommy frowned. "Get ready… They're getting closer…"

The six Americans turned, heading to the front gate and taking fighting stances. Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, Kuno, and Nabiki traded looks, the former four going up to join the Americans.

"What's goin' on?" Ranma asked.

"Trouble," Jason said, not breaking his gaze from the road.

Akane frowned. "What kind of trouble?"

Then they heard it.

A trilling sound, like a thousand cicadas singing, was approaching, getting louder and louder. After a moment, gray, humanlike creatures with monstrous faces began to appear, their movements jerky and erratic. Some had blades where their claw-like hands should be, others hand large maces.

"Dark sorcery!" Kuno screamed, "Demons!"

"For once you're right," Kimberly said.

Kuno blinked. "I am?"

"He is?!" Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo chorused.

Jason nodded. "They're called Putty Patrollers. Whatever you do, do not hold back. Strike to kill, because these things will not hesitate to kill you."

Ranma blinked. "Wait a minute. A true martial artist doesn't kill."

"Then don't think like a martial artist," Tommy snapped, "These things are constructs, anyway. They have no minds of their own beyond a basic personality, and will not stop until they are destroyed or we're all dead."

Ranma frowned. "Constructs… Not living creatures…"

Tommy nodded.

Ranma frowned. "Okay… I guess it's okay to go all out then…"

Kuno frowned, and called out to his servant. "Sasuke! My sword!"

To the surprise of the Americans, a rat-faced short man in ninja garb appeared out of the tree, giving Kuno a katana and taking his bokken back. He took one look at the Putty Patrollers, squeaked in fright, and vanished.

Kuno drew out the katana, brandishing it and throwing the scabbard aside. Tommy shook his head, dismissing the rat-faced man as just another part of the strangeness of this place, and focused back on the Putties.

The Putties, trilling animalistically, charged. The Americans lunged into the Putties, using techniques that Ranma was certain were clearly meant to kill. A Putty's face shattered from an elbow delivered by Tommy, a chop from Trini hitting with enough force to decapitate the clay creature. Zack whirled about, revealing that his style also had elements of Sambo in it, the young black man grappling Putties and breaking arms and legs off. Billy's kicks struck all about him, chipping away at the clay-like bodies of the Putties, while Kimberly's acrobatics kept her mostly over the crowds' heads as she used her powerful legs to attack. Jason's fists struck with force that reminded Ranma of the Ryoga's.

Feeling less comfortable about it than the Americans, Kuno, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo charged into the crowd of clay creatures. Kuno attacked full force right off the bat, more than ready to believe in magic and responding in kind. Akane, Ranma, and Ukyo tried to fight with their usual tactics, but when Akane was nearly eviscerated by a Putty Patroller's sword, they began fighting back harder. Ukyo used her spatula like a battle axe, defending the wounded Akane as best she could. Ranma and Kuno found themselves back to back, fighting off Putty after Putty.

"They just won't stop," Ranma said, huffing.

"KEEP FIGHTING!" Billy shouted, "One mistake and its over!"

Then it got worse.

Teleporting into the midst of the crowd of Putties, two figures appeared. Both of them had insane grins on their faces.

"Miss Hinako!?" Ranma said.

"TSUBASA!?" Ukyo shouted, staring in shock at the figure in the tattered dress crouching near Hinako and clinging to her leg. Tsubasa giggled shrilly.

Hinako smirked, staring directly at Tommy. "I should thank you, you know," she said, "The evil I absorbed from you has made my mind free."

"Oh God…" Tommy moaned, paling, "That's why I've been feeling so clear-headed lately… Miss Hinako, you have to fight it…"

Hinako laughed, cutting him off. "I am free, dear Tommy. I serve the Dark Mistress Rita Repulsa now! The Galactic Witch, who's power is second only to Lord Zedd! And now… I have freed Tsubasa's mind as well!"

"Ukyo…" Tsubasa wailed, his head leaning back at an inhuman angle as he stared at the okonomiyaki chef, "…You will be mine…"

"Like hell," Ukyo said, her voice quavering as she brandished her battle spatula.

Hinako laughed, dark energy surging around her. Her body began to mutate, her hands growing into large claws, her skin turning blue as her shoes burst open, her feet turning into Velociraptor talons. A dozen tentacles erupted from her back, whipping about hungrily, her eyes turning blood red, her jaw extending and her teeth mutating into savage fangs. A long, slobbery tongue lashed out for a moment, and she chuckled.

"Foolish humans… You will all die, or be converted as Tsubasa and I have!"

"What's she talking about!?" Ranma shouted to the Americans, visibly frightened. "What's going on!?"

Before any of them could say anything, Hinako turned to Tsubasa and grinned. "SHOW THEM THE MIGHT I HAVE GIVEN YOU, TSUBASA KURENAI!" she thundered.

Tsubasa giggled and stood up, his body contorting oddly.

Ukyo shook her head. "Tsubasa… Please, don't do this…"

"Mine," Tsubasa said, "You are mine…" He giggled madly. "But I am no longer merely Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa's body contorted, and his skin literally ripped off of his body, revealing a massive robot with Tsubasa's face. He looked vaguely like a Transformer, one with six different modes, each one more lethal than the last, his armor a dark camouflage. He transformed into each form once, a helicopter with massive miniguns, a wildcat, a tank, a falcon, and a massive plasma cannon, changing back to his humanoid form and roaring.

"I AM TRANSFORMITOR!!"

_Nekohanten… _+++

"Grandmother, what wrong?!" Shampoo said, visibly worried. "Why we close shop so early?!"

Cologne shook her head. "We need to get to the school, now! Ranma and the others are in danger!"

"Aiyah!" Shampoo shrieked, "Airen in trouble! I go save the day!"

Mousse sneered. "If Ranma is in danger, then let him be in danger. I don't want to help him!"

Cologne slapped him hard enough to send his glasses flying off. "This is bigger than your stupid rivalry with him, feather brain! The entire world may be in danger! Now let's GO!" she snapped, pogoing out of the restaurant. Shampoo gave him a dirty look, and followed.

_Saotome Household…_+++

The teacup Soun had been drinking from cracked. Happosai, Genma, Kasumi, and Soun himself all stared at the cup. Before their eyes, the cup simply fell into pieces.

"…Oh my…" Kasumi said, suddenly nervous.

"A bad omen…" Soun said softly.

"A horrible omen…" Genma said, frowning.

At the same moment, a thought struck all of them. "Ranma and the others are in danger…" they chorused.

_Somewhere near Nerima…_+++

"Finally," Ryoga muttered, staring at the roadsign, "That didn't take as long as it usually did. I must be getting lucky!" He smiled, slightly cheered by the thought.

Then he saw the energy column from Hinako's transformation go up.

"No…" Ryoga said, shivering at the dark energies, "AKANE!"

He dashed off, praying to every God he could think of that he didn't get lost and would be able to help.

_Furinkan High School… _+++

Tsubasa… no, Transformitor, bellowed his fury to the Heavens. The six Americans traded worried looks.

"Looks like there's no choice…" Tommy muttered.

"No chance to go do this in secret," Billy said, frowning.

"So much for secret identities," Kimberly muttered.

"Enough," Jason said firmly, "Let's do it."

Ranma frowned. "What in blazes are you doing?!"

The six Americans stood in a line, holding their unusual belt buckles. "You'll see," Jason said, "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"

The six Americans thrust out their belt buckles, which literally exploded with energy.

"DRAGONZORD!"

"MASTADON!"

"PTERODACTYL!"

"TRICERATOPS!"

"SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!"

Colorful lightning flowed around the six Americans. In a space of seconds, their clothes dissolved, their muscles visibly swelling as the power filled them. Those with longer hair had their hair bind itself in a tight bun as new clothing formed around them, colorful armored uniforms with helmets themed after the animals they called out.

The transformation took moments. And where the Americans once stood were six superheroes.

"POWER RANGERS!" they chorused, excess power flowing into the ground around them and exploding.

Ranma, Kuno, Ukyo, and Akane were knocked back by the force of it.

It was later agreed that Ranma said it best. "…Holy CRAP…"

_TO BE CONTINUED…_+++


End file.
